A CONTROVERSY ABOUT AISH

Time magazine came out with a cover story on the changing face of Bollywood projecting Aishwarya Rai as "queen" and highlighting crossover movies, films with bold themes and increasing western interest in it. The weekly also focucsed on the young generation describing Aamir Khan as "India's most respected and versatile young actor" and praising director Ram Gopal Varma for "ditching song-and-dance fantasies for urban grittiness". However, the magazine describes Rai as "India's standard bearer". "She may position herself as new Bollywood in terms of roles, but in person, Rai embodies the Indian middle class - and very old Bollywood-ideal: a modern girl with traditional values."

This news story spread like wild fire, resulting in a major controversy. According to an opinion survey, 64 per cent of the people who participated in a recent poll viewed that Aishwarya Rai doesn't represent Bollywood. So, the Times story is not justified. In fact, these circles attribute the Times story on her to its obsession wish Aish. These circles wonder how Times forgot to mention about Amitabh Bachchan, who earned name and fame in the international film festivals. While Aish represented at Cannes festival, Amitabh Bachchan is the most popular Indian film star from South Africa to Alps. The Big B is superb in the film industry as a whole, whether in the field of technique, or in creative thinking. Indian film circles also blame the West for its vested interest in Aish. Why should it otherwise shower praises on the smallest star of Bollywood at the cost of giants like Amitabh and Aamir Khan?