Latest news with #Garewal
Mint
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
Satyajit Ray's 'blackface' moment at Cannes 2025
At the screening of Satyajit Ray's 1970 classic, Aranyer Din Ratri, at the Cannes film festival earlier this month, the audience gave a standing ovation to the celebrities on stage—Wes Anderson along with Sharmila Tagore and Simi Garewal, the only surviving members of the cast. Restored by the Film Heritage Foundation, the movie was presented by Anderson, an ardent fan of Ray. Also read: Cannes 2025: 'Nouvelle Vague' is a winsome homage to Godard Tagore played the urbane and sophisticated Aparna, beguiling four young men who arrive in Palamau (now in Jharkhand) for a break from their busy and troubled lives in Kolkata. Critic Pauline Kael once described her presence as 'incomparably graceful", a sharp contrast to Garewal's Duli, a Santhal woman, who plays a pivotal role in the denouement. For the first few days of the shoot, Ray had Garewal observe tribal women at a local watering hole. Once she had absorbed the nuances of their demeanour, she had her body blackened. On her website, the actor says it took four hours for her to become Duli, and three hours to remove the paint afterwards. In the 1960s, when Ray shot Aranyer Din Ratri, featuring a 'blackface" (an actor whose face and/or body are darkened to represent someone unlike them) on screen was par for the course. Through the 1960s, Hindi movies embraced the blackface trope with impunity. From Ashok Kumar in Meri Surat Teri Aankhen (1963), where he played the dark-complexioned Pyare with fanged dentures and a wild wig to boot, to Meena Kumari playing Rajni in Main Bhi Ladki Hoon (1964), examples of such misuses abound. Sadly, the tradition remains unbroken to this day, albeit with a shift more towards 'brownface"—Alia Bhatt in Udta Punjab (2016), Hrithik Roshan in Super 30 (2019), and Bhumi Pednekar in Bala (2019), the examples are plenty. It's disappointing, though not entirely surprising, that mainstream cinema is yet to rid itself of such regressive traits. After all, misogyny, homophobia and Islamophobia, in various degrees, not only continue to be part of India's commercial cinema, but have led to blockbusters like Kabir Singh (2019) and Animal (2023). The baffling part is that a director like Ray, widely lauded for his humanism and aestheticism, should have fallen for the same problematic trope. When questioned about her choice to play a Santhal, Garewal spoke of the exigency behind the decision: 'You needed a professional to play the role." One wonders if Ray would have taken the same line to defend himself. The irony is heightened, considering that the film (inspired by a novel by Sunil Gangopadhyay of the same name) lays bare the hypocrisy of upper-caste elites towards those they regard as less 'civilised" than them. The word sabhya (civilised) appears several times in the original Bengali novel, especially in the context of the young men who want to momentarily relinquish all decorum of modern life to immerse themselves in the 'wild" freedom of the forests. Their distance from civic rules gives them an unfettered licence to behave like overlords in the land of the oppressed. They demand to be served, sexually and otherwise, and remain largely oblivious to the inconveniences they cause to the dwellers of the forest. A couple of these men do feel periodic stabs of conscience, triggered by the fragile political ecosystem of the 1960s, when the novel was written. Sanjay, who is in charge of labour relations in a factory, is particularly pricked by the disgraceful behaviour of his friends. Back home in Kolkata, as the ultra-left Naxal movement upturns systems of governance, in the so-called idyll of the forests, Sanjay and his well-educated friends hanker for a taste of the lives of the nobles savages—by partaking of their food, liquor and women, while refusing to give up their daily necessities, like having boiled eggs for breakfast. Did Ray internalise this mindset while casting Garewal as Duli? Or was he, in fact, mocking himself as a member of the same elite as the protagonists, by putting her in the role? From the distance of 55 years, we can only speculate on these questions, while reckoning with our discomfort, either way. Also read: Lounge Loves: Sri Lankan director Sumitra Peries' 'Gehenu Lamai'
India Today
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Celebrity confessions with Simi Garewal
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated April 5, 1999)Asia's biggest media baron seems a trifle uneasy. He returns her warm greeting with an awkward half smile that almost has you believing he is getting ready A to flee the television cameras chronicling his discomfort. Unruffled, the lady proceeds to work her usual, she succeeds. Seven minutes into the interview, Rupert Murdoch is telling Simi Garewal about his failed marriage and talking candidly about the resulting divorce. Ten minutes and he's sharing his concept of the ideal relationship and discussing his hopes for his few gentle nods - to indicate she is enraptured by his story - and some quiet propelling has Murdoch divulging what music he would like to play when he is wooing a woman. Celine Dion, for all those interested. By this time, Murdoch is sitting back, one foot resting casually on his other leg, laughing often enough and in no hurry to head anywhere. When it's time to say goodbye, he envelops the gracious hand - perfectly painted red nails and all - with both his own in a vigorous bear-shake. Murdoch is simply experiencing what a clutch of favoured desi celebrities before him have - a chatty yet revealing Rendezvous with Simi Garewal. The same show which entered the top five Star Plus TRP ratings within a month of its launch in October 1997 and which went on to hit No. 1 with the Shah Rukh Khan interview in January 1998 by passing Hindi serials like Tu Tu Main Main and Nina Pillai broke down in her first ever heart-to heart about her late husband Rajan. Where superstar Amitabh Bachchan said socially he had nothing in common with Rekha. Where Ismail Merchant swore he would be married by the year 2000. Where Anil Kapoor said his family thinks he is a fool. And where Shabana Azmi announced candidly that hubby Javed Akhtar always left the bathroom her on how she gets her usually not-so-garrulous guests to chatter and Garewal simply shrugs: "I ask." The popular weekly confessional that allows viewers a sometimes too saccharine-sweet peek into the lives of stars from the worlds of sport, politics, business and entertainment is back in its second season with personalities who are harder nuts to crack. Like J. Jayalalitha, for Garewal went to Chennai to interview the politician, she was told by aides that "madam" might be late. Or that she might not even show up. Her guest arrived punctually, and they chatted for a couple of minutes before the cameras began was their first meeting, but minutes into the interview they were belting out an old favourite Hindi number. How? Garewal asked, of course. The only person she probably didn't ask was Kapil Dev when she spliced together all her guests in a spoofy finale last year where one segment revolved around the pregnancy of the veteran cricketer. For weeks after that episode, every time he missed a golf shot Kapil attributed it to his pregnancy. "I didn't see it," confesses Kapil, "but everyone said it was hilarious."advertisementSo far, the new 25-episode line-up includes Vijay Mallya, Farooq Abdullah with his son Omar, Garewal's childhood idol Gayatri Devi, Aishwarya Rai, Zeenat Aman, Murdoch, Pandit Ravi Shankar with wife Sukanya and daughter Anoushka and the already telecast segments of Shekhar Kapur and Suchitra Krishnamurthy who said honestly that her career is more important to her than her husband' actress-turned television director-turned celebrity interviewer who is always impeccably clothed in white - or ivory or cream or pale beige - knows exactly what makes her celebrity guests tick. Before she meets them. "You have to know everything about them so you are in control and so they can't surprise you," says Garewal, an amateur computer chess player who spent a year researching champion Vishwanatha Anand, including reading about many of the games he played. "She's very meticulous," says sister and executive producer then Garewal has always been just that. She spent almost five years with former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi chronicling his life for a high-profile documentary and still has the nearly 500 hours of footage from that style is as effective as it is simple. "You have to lead into the question slowly. Ask people too specific a question and they get stumped." Next, she listens. "When I'm doing that interview I'm at the peak of my concentration. I listen to every word because you never know what you should pick up and follow up on," says cameras that sit inconspicuously on the fringes of her elaborate set anywhere from eight to 15 feet away from her guest and a crew of 40 that largely stays out of sight further propel the flow of words. Though no diffused lighting or "soft focus" is ever used, guests know the great make-up and the bounce lighting (not directly in-your-face) will ensure that they look good on her that still doesn't explain how the concerned, well-modulated voice almost invariably elicits fresh insights from oft-interviewed celebs on everything from loveless childhoods to current relationships. Postulates Jaya Bachchan: "She doesn't create awkward moments for anyone. She makes you comfortable and that makes you drop your guard." Adds friend and another former guest Shobha De: "It's not about exposes or digging the dirt on anyone's life or embarrassing anyone. Within that context it works." Agrees Garewal: "I want to understand my guests. I'm not here to diminish or decimate them or to put them in a corner. You never get anything out of people like that."advertisementOf course it helps that Garewal herself is one of them. "I can identify with them because I have been on the same side of the fence as they are," says the actress who first turned interviewer in the early '80s with the television series It's a Woman's World. "These are the same people who I would invite to my house."The calming, almost ethereal patio set of Rendezvous is, in fact, modelled after the terrace of Garewal's south Mumbai apartment. Its all white trellis complete with antique door, homely creepers and even a pool of water that shimmers comfortingly in the light helps maintain the illusion of an informal most of Garewal's interviews peel away more layers than just a casual conversation. Like the forthcoming one with Zeenat Aman, in which the former screen goddess recounts her not-too-happy marital the course of the rendezvous, she reminisces how her mother was against her marriage to the late actor Mazhar Khan. Cut to near the end when Garewal asks her if she has any regrets? "I wish I had listened more to my mother," Zeenat woman who inspires confidences largely because people believe she is genuinely interested in what they have to say is, strangely enough, very reticent about herself. In fact, the technology junkie - "I run my life via the computer" - who is as likely to visit the nearest electronics studio as she is to pick up the whites from the latest Giorgio Armani collection on her trips abroad, says she prefers hanging out at is this inability to share her innermost feelings even with those closest to her that makes her envy the ability of her guests to pour their hearts out while the country watches. "I admire people who can talk about themselves. I can't do it." Perhaps she needs a rendezvous with Simi to India Today MagazineTrending Reel
Hindustan Times
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Cannes 2025: Sharmila Tagore, Simi Garewal attend 'Aranyer Din Ratri' screening
New Delhi, Veteran actors Sharmila Tagore and Simi Garewal on Monday evening attended the screening of Satyajit Ray's iconic 1970 movie "Aranyer Din Ratri" at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival. A 4K restored version of the Bengali-language film, titled "Days and Nights in the Forest" in English, is being showcased at the 78th edition of the prestigious gala under the Cannes Classics section. Tagore made an appearance on the red carpet in a classy green saree along with her daughter and jewellery designer Saba Pataudi, who opted for an all-yellow ethnic ensemble. Tagore was joined by her co-star Garewal, who was dressed in a gown by Indian couture label Karleo in her signature white colour. They were joined on the red carpet by the film's gala presenter and Hollywood filmmaker Wes Anderson, who led its six-year-long restoration. Anderson, a long-time admirer of Ray, introduced the movie ahead of its screening. "Aranyer Din Ratri", which explores themes of alienation, class, and modernity, follows the story of four city-bred men who escape to the forests of Palamau for a carefree holiday, only to undergo a journey of self-discovery. In the film, Tagore plays Aparna, a cool and elegant city woman, whereas Garewal essays the role of a tribal Santhal girl named Duli. "Aranyer Din Ratri" is presented and restored by The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project at L'Immagine Ritrovata in collaboration with the Film Heritage Foundation , Janus Films, and the Criterion Collection. The funding was provided by the Golden Globe Foundation. Also part of the screening were producer Purnima Dutta, Margaret Bodde, executive director of The Film Foundation, and FHF founder Shivendra Singh Dungarpur. Based on the novel of the same name by author Sunil Gangopadhyay, "Aranyer Din Ratri" also featured Soumitra Chatterjee, Subhendu Chatterjee, Samit Bhanja, Robi Ghosh, and Aparna Sen. Last year, the 4K restored version of Shyam Benegal's "Manthan" was screened in the same section at Cannes. Aribam Syam Sharma's Manipuri film "Ishanou" and 1978 Malayalam movie "Thamp" by G Aravindan were showcased under Cannes Classics in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Scroll.in
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
Simi Garewal on Satyajit Ray's ‘Aranyer Din Ratri': ‘A great director opens out the world to you'
When the Cannes Film Festival premieres a restoration of Satyajit Ray's sexy and sobering Aranyer Din Ratri on Monday, lead actor Sharmila Tagore will be there. Producer Purnima Dutta will be there. American filmmaker Wes Anderson, a Rayphile who used scores from the Bengali master's movies in his Darjeeling Limited, will be there. Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, whose Film Heritage Foundation restored Aranyer Din Ratri along with The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project and The Criterion Collection /Janus Films, will be there. Simi Garewal will be there too. Garewal, who plays an Adivasi woman named Duli in Aranyer Din Ratri, will be attending Cannes for the first time ever. 'I made this film in 1969, and I never thought that it would take me 56 years to get to the Cannes red carpet,' Garewal told Scroll. 'When you work with a great director, it opens out the whole world to you.' Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest) will be screened on May 19 at Cannes in its Classics section. Ray made the black-and-white film, adapted from Sunil Gangopadhyay's novel of the same name, right after his comic fantasy adventure Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne. Soumitra Chatterjee, Rabi Ghosh, Subhendu Chatterjee and Samit Bhana play four friends from Kolkata who travel to Palamu in present-day Jharkhand for a vacation. Their journey into what they believe is uninhibited terrain brings out their ignorance, hypocrisy and skewed understanding of gender relations. Samit Bhanja's character Hari, in particular, has a sexual encounter with Duli, played by Simi Garewal with blackened skin. Garewal was already an admirer of Ray before she met him for the first time at Raj Kapoor's home in Mumbai in the late 1960s. Garewal had played a crucial role in Kapoor's Limelight -inspired Mera Naam Joker, which Ray had admired. Garewal remembers Manik da, as Ray was known, praising the segment in Mera Naam Joker that features Garewal as a school teacher who fires the imagination of one of her students. 'Manik da apparently kept praising my work to whoever he met,' Garewal said. A month after the encounter, Garewal got a letter from Ray asking if she could come to Kolkata for a screen test for his upcoming production. All Ray told Garewal was that she would be playing an Adivasi woman. 'I wrote back asking if I needed to speak Bengali,' Garewal recalled. 'He said no, just pidgin Bengali. We will work it out when you get here.' For Garewal, the opportunity to work with Ray was one she couldn't pass up. Born in Ludhiana, Garewal spent her formative years in England, where she had watched Ray's earlier films. By the time she received the offer for Aranyer Din Ratri, she had already been in a bunch of mainstream Hindi films, including Teen Devian (1965) and Do Badan (1966). But she yearned for films that were realistic, like the ones directed by Ray. 'I had watched Ray's films while I was studying in London, and I thought that the films that I would make in Bombay would be like these films,' Garewal said. 'But when I came to Bombay, I found the films to be completely juvenile. It wasn't what I wanted to do. But when one is under pressure, one has accept what one gets.' Besides, Ray only worked in the Bengali language and with Bengali actors. 'I thought I didn't have a chance, so when I got the letter from Ray, you can imagine how thrilled I was,' Garewal recalled. Why did Ray cast Garewal – an urban and urbane woman – as an Adivasi character? 'Ray had the ability and the vision to transform somebody, which, I am afraid, the Bombay producers lacked,' Garewal said. Her make-up for the role would take over three hours. The practice of darkening an actor's complexion rather than casting somebody who actually looks the part has now been largely abandoned. In this aspect, Aranyer Din Ratri, an otherwise razor-sharp, enduring examination of warped masculinity, hasn't aged well. But Garewal has her own take on the matter. 'You needed a professional to play the role,' she said. A non-professional who might have appeared more authentic would not have been able to perform in front of the camera, Garewal said. Garewal spent a week watching the other actors before she shot her own scenes. She remembers going to a local store where Adivasi women bought liquor. Ray encouraged Garewal to closely observe one of the women, her body language, her manner of speech. 'All I did was to copy her, so it became easy for me,' Garewal said. Her other memories from the shoot include basic facilities at the locations in Palamu. The lack of creature comforts didn't matter – 'We were so thrilled to be working with Ray that it was a small price to pay,' Garewal said. 'The cerebral and creative joy took us along. When Ray praised us or encouraged us, it made us want to do our best.' Aranyer Din Ratri is famous for a memory game between the four men and two women played Sharmila Tagore and Kaberi Bose. Ray was a reputed admirer of puzzles and word games, which he would solve with Garewal during the shoot, she said. In 1973, Garewal was back in Kolkata for Mrinal Sen's Padatik, his politically astute drama about the dynamic between an activist and the woman who shelters him. 'I rang up Ray, who said, how wonderful that you are here, I have a new game for you.' Garewal's prolonged contact with Ray introduced her not only to the Bengali language but also Rabindrasangeet, she said. 'Ray inculcated a whole culture in me,' she added. 'I was so inspired that I started learning all these things, and they still live with me till today.' In later years, Garewal became widely known for her documentaries on Rajiv Gandhi and Raj Kapoor as well as the celebrity talk show Rendezvous with Simi Garewal. She interviewed a host of film personalities for the television series. But she never interviewed Ray professionally. However, they maintained a correspondence for several years. Garewal has kept all the letters. 'I might donate them to the Satyajit Ray Foundation,' she said. Apart from Aranyer Din Ratri and Padatik, Garewal's talent was on display in Conrad Rooks's English-language Siddhartha (1972), based on the Hermann Hesse novel of the same name. These three films are among the more unconventional titles in Garewal's career. 'I have also done small films for no money, purely for the joy of acting naturally rather than swinging a bag and running around trees,' Garewal said. 'I would have loved more roles that gave me the satisfaction of being able to act out a character in a natural, convincing way.'
Deccan Herald
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Deccan Herald
Cannes 2025: Simi Garewal to make red carpet appearance at 'Aranyer Din Ratri' screening
Garewal, who played a tribal Santhal girl named Duli in the Bengali movie, will attend the showcase which will be held under the Cannes Classics section on May 19.
