Malaysian Newspapers blasts Bollywood
— No Discipline
— Unprofessional Behaviour
— Bollywood artists never are on time
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Saturday/Columns/20061209092906/Article/index_html
IT’S the same old Bollywood story. The antics of Bollywood stars have become legendary and as predictable as a bad film script.
As the Press members waited for the Global Indian Film Awards (GIFA) — held for the first time in Kuala Lumpur over three days from Dec 7 — media conference to begin on Thursday, all we could do to while our time away was exchange anecdotes of previous Bollywood events we’d covered. And two-and-a-half-hours of waiting made for a heck of a lot of stories.
Like typical Bollywood fare, much song and dance was made prior to the event. A Press conference had been arranged a week earlier, only to be cancelled at the 11th hour. For most of us GIFA brought back memories of another awards ceremony, the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA), which was held in Genting Highlands four years ago.
Many promises were made months before the event (like how it was supposed to have been attended by Bollywood’s A-listers, only to have but a handful turn up) but failed to be delivered when the time came. But what really got our goats then and at other media conferences involving Hindi film stars was their utter lack of respect for people and time.
So when three events were slated back-to-back for Thursday — a Press conference for the latest Hindi film Baabul, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Salman Khan, Rani Mukherjee and John Abraham at 3.30pm; followed by the GIFA conference at 4.30pm; and the world premiere of Baabul at KLCC at 7pm — I said a silent prayer for the organisers, the Malaysian-based One Big Option Sdn Bhd and Indian-based Popcorn Entertainment Pvt Ltd. It’s hard enough getting Bollywood artistes to come on time to one function but squeezing in three in a day? What were they thinking?
At 5.35pm, Abraham, Baabul director Ravi Chopra, the film’s music director and scriptwriter took their seats. Soon after, emcee Mahadzir Lokman — whose conviviality came in handy at times like this, helping to keep our foul mood in check — announced, not without a touch of sarcasm, that “we’re seriously behind time and it wouldn’t do to keep the Deputy Prime Minister’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, waiting (at the premiere later in the evening)” and that the Press conference should commence immediately.
Just as one journalist was about to shoot the first question, Chopra — seated at the centre of the long table before us — decided to take a phone call first, while the roomful of journalists stared at him in disbelief!
Even after that we were told that no, we couldn’t start the conference without “Mr Salman Khan who will be down in two minutes”.
Apparently in Indian time, two minutes meant 20 and at close to 6pm, the all-important Mr Khan — accompanied by about 10 big, burly men in black (no, seriously) — deemed it a suitable time for him to come down from his suite at the Palace of the Golden Horses. And when Salman, in reference to Baabul, said: “Men have always made laws to suit their convenience”, it was all we could do not to chuckle. He obviously knew what he was talking about!
Most of us would have probably walked out of the Press conference that day, had it not been for our respect for Rosmah, who is also the patron of GIFA.
Naturally the Baabul premiere started late too and this time even Rosmah, Indian High Commissioner R.L. Narayan and his wife as well as Minister of Tourism Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor were not spared. Having arrived at 8.30pm, when the film was scheduled to be screened, they were made to wait as the cast began trickling in only an hour later.
Now where else would you find something like this happening? Only in Bollywood…
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Saturday/Columns/20061209092906/Article/index_html
All i c r ankles 
In a culture/government where hijab is forced, what can you expect otehr than it becomes more abt fashion than anything else???
