2013-05-25T23:45:20-04:00 Shachi Kurl http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/author/index.php?author=shachi-kurl Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Shachi Kurl Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3270805 2013-05-14T11:50:41-04:00 2013-05-14T11:50:56-04:00

Shachi Kurl http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shachi-kurl/
Everything is relative, but in B.C., we enjoy some of the most responsible, corruption-free government in the world.

Scoff at that if you like, but when you turned on the tap this morning, you got clean water. When you flicked a switch the lights came on. And police on the way into work won't shake you down for a bribe by issuing a phony ticket. Trivial things you say? Why do you think there's a lineup of people from around the world trying to come to live in our part of the world? The least we can do is honour and uphold the democratic processes that enable the best of our society on e-day.

If flowery language isn't enough to persuade you to get up off your butt and vote today, consider a few other things:

1) Old people have already written you off.

Did you know that political strategists are counting on you not to vote? Senior BC Liberal strategists say this to reassure their nervous supporters: "Our base leans to older voters, whereas the NDP base leans to the 18-34 age group (older voters vote)." Now technically, there's nothing untrue about that statement. But whether you're voting Liberal, NDP, Green or Conservative, merely casting your ballot is putting your thumb in the eye of decrepit politicos who have already dismissed you.

2) Votes do count in close races.

If you think your vote doesn't count, talk to Lorne Mayencourt or Wally Oppal. In 2005, Mayencourt was elected MLA in what was then Vancouver-Burrard by 11 votes. 11. That's fewer people than you need to play Ultimate Frisbee. In 2009, Oppal lost to Independent candidate Vicki Huntington by 23 votes. I've seen Starbucks lineups longer than that. The point is, if you devote as much time to voting as you do to ordering that tall skinny vanilla latte, maybe the person you want in power might actually win.

3) People in other parts of the world are literally dying to vote

Democracy is a dangerous thing in some parts of the world. This is also mid-term election time in the Philippines. According to Agence France-Presse, more than 60 people have died in the run-up to that vote just for attending rallies or openly supporting a candidate. In Pakistan, millions of young voters braved Taliban death threats to have their say over the weekend. Yes, I know this may sound nagging. Like when your mom told you to eat your Brussels sprouts because there were starving kids in Ethiopia who were starving. But your mom was right. And right now she'd tell you the democratic process deserves our respect. Not our disdain.

4) By voting, you reserve the right to bitch about your politicians later

You've heard it before but it remains deliciously true. Think about how many much more cred you'll have two years from now when you say, "I voted for that guy and he still screwed us over". All your buddies will be able to say is "we wished we had voted for the other guy but we didn't vote at all," which sounds extremely lame. Also, if you're in a riding where the vote was close, you can lord point two over their heads. I'm not saying you'll be popular. But you'll be right. And that's way better.

5) If you don't vote they'll make it mandatory and steal your beer money

Just ask the Aussies, who spent so much time playing beach volleyball and shearing sheep instead of voting that the Australian government made casting a ballot mandatory under the law. Helloooo, nanny state. The penalty for not voting? A $20 dollar fine that rises if you don't pay it. Only half of us in B.C. bothered to show up to the polls in 2009. That's even lower turnout than in Alberta, where government never ever, ever changes. Do you want Allison Redford laughing at you? Do you want Julia Gillard coming to scold you? Do you want the B.C. government taking money you could have spent on a six-pack of craft beer because it made voting mandatory? No, I didn't think so. Now go vote.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3223988 2013-05-07T12:27:39-04:00 2013-05-07T12:28:32-04:00

Shachi Kurl http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shachi-kurl/
It's the Canucks, of course, who not only feel their momentum but their fan base slipping away in yet another dismal playoffs outing.

Now, switch to the "nerd playoffs" aka the election, where the party that looked like it would cruise to victory on April 15 remains in control of its support base, but will have to sing much louder for its supper amongst undecided and swing voters as the game clock winds down.

These have been tense and not particularly fun times for those steering the New Democratic campaign, as columnists and political watchers pick apart everything the party has done wrong to shrink a 20 point lead to just seven in a mere two weeks.

It's almost as bad as losing three games in a row - with home ice advantage. The NDP brain trust knows this, and will be tweaking party messaging in the days to come to reflect a harder line when it comes to their opponents, the BC Liberals.

For superstitious NDPers, there is little comfort in "I told you so." Ever since their party began consistently polling at or above 40 per cent, the magic number under which they have won previous majority elections, New Democrats who believe in good and bad juju have been loudly shhhshing anyone suggesting a ballot box victory looked certain.

For others, the key to victory has been hard work, and more hard work. They have privately expressed worries in the months leading up to the campaign that fellow candidates were spending more time envisioning what they would do in government and less time applying the elbow grease required to ensure victory.

From that perspective, a scare on the polling numbers may actually work to the NDP's advantage. After all, there is nothing more frightening, and more motivating, than a victory that could slip away. Advance voting begins this week, and the party may well use its shrunken lead as a rallying cry to get supporters to the polls early.

Delivering the vote has always been the strength of the NDP in this province. Still, the party's failure to use other political weapons gifted by the BC Liberals in themselves; in the form of the HST, dubious jobs and budget figures, the ethnic vote strategy memo or questions around BC's Wood Innovation Centre, is frankly baffling. But at NDP HQ, there's not time to reflect on the "why?". Only the "what's next?"

Speaking of baffling, I must confess to being entirely unsure what Gordon Wilson's endorsement of the Liberals actually does for leader Christy Clark or her party, who have been having the campaign of their dreams to this point.

For you millennials reading this, Wilson's greatest claim to political fame in B.C. came in 1991. 22 years ago. As then-leader of a much more left-leaning BC Liberal Party, he delivered a wildly resonating soundbite at a TV debate during that year's general election. It was enough to earn the party a come-from-nowhere 17 seats on election night, and status for Wilson as Opposition Leader.

Alas, there endeth the fairy tale. What followed was better than any story arc on 90's-era episodes of 90210.

Within two years, Wilson had alienated his Liberal caucus members with a reportedly aloof leadership style and a much-publicized extra-marital affair with fellow MLA Judy Tyabji. The affair in itself was perhaps less of an issue than the fact that he elevated the otherwise rookie politician to a powerful position within caucus, breeding resentment galore.

By 1993, Wilson had lost the leadership of the BC Liberals to another Gordon (he of the Campbell variety), stomped out of the party's convention where said loss occurred, and then quit the party altogether. He would go on to start his own political party, the Progressive Democratic Alliance, disband it, join the NDP, run for the NDP leadership, and then quit the NDP, only to "come home", as he calls it, to the BC Liberals this week.

Seriously, with endorsements like Wilson's, who needs Dave Babych? There have been musings Wilson can help shore up centre-left votes. But that will be very hard to do while the party runs endless TV spots of Clark sounding like a fiscal hawk. (Not, by the way, that there is anything wrong with being fiscally hawkish.)

Note to Clark and the BC Liberals: You don't need Gordon Wilson. You're doing just fine. You've brought the fight to the NDP. You've done a better job framing the ballot box question. So why these late-game distractions? Like the Canucks, you're running out of time to finish turning things around in this campaign. And as your volunteers are telling me, there are still plenty of undecided voters out there -- even in ridings where Liberal victory is supposed to be a lock.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3034036 2013-04-07T22:43:53-04:00 2013-04-08T09:48:51-04:00

Shachi Kurl http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shachi-kurl/ B.C. Liberals' $11 million gambit to bring economic development -- and voter love -- to a Bollywood movie, rife with drama, intrigue and betrayal.

After the big event, I'd say it's more like one of those never-ending TV serials. We have to stay tuned for certain answers. But here's what we know so far:

THE SHOW

In the end, the only ones who called it completely right were TOIFA ticket buyers looking to be entertained at BC Place Saturday night. Depending on how much they spent, most got their money's worth from Bollywood's biggest stars and the creative producers.

The cherry blossom theme on stage was a nice homage to springtime in Vancouver. The use of young, local dancers in many numbers was also a smart touch.

Abhishek Bachchan made his way to the stage via a chariot through a screaming crowd, and promised to bring his dad Amitabh Bachchan (the real vocal and dance artiste) back to Vancouver on a future visit. Senior Bachchan was once infamously pelted with eggs while performing for a drunken Vancouver crowd in the early '80s. He vowed never to come back but eventually did. Still, we don't get to see enough of him.

Dance numbers from Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif reminded us why they are currently Bollywood's sexiest sirens. It was a big night for Chopra, who along with her co-star Ranbir Kapoor, won acting awards for superhit, Barfi (nothing to do with barfing, I assure you).

One of the disappointments of the night was the wooden walk-through of a dance performed by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Wife to Abhishek - she's also a former Miss World and in the first decade of the millennium, the best dancer among Bollywood heroines.

After having a baby girl almost 18 months ago, she's maintained a lower profile and wasn't exactly busting moves last night. At times looking almost sheepish, Rai's performance was reminiscent of Britney Spears' VMA set in 2007 - without the substance abuse. Moving very tentatively and casually through some parts, she looked unrehearsed. It's a shame.

But Shahrukh Khan didn't leave his audience hanging. Claiming a shoulder injury, the 47-year-old apologized in advance for any dancing deficiencies, before proceeding through a medley of his greatest hits. He even had a Monkees moment, holding a guitar he clearly wasn't playing. The crowd screamed anyway. He was visibly exhausted by the end.

TAXPAYERS' CASH COLLISION

So everybody had a good time, but that wasn't the real reason the Clark government cut an $11 million cheque of taxpayer dollars to bring TOIFA to Vancouver. She argued it was an investment for a future economic payday. Critics argued it was to give her a platform to woo South Asian voters in the crucial weeks before B.C.'s May election.

I have argued, and continue to argue, that governments regardless of their political bent, should pursue these kinds of opportunities because Bollywood is big business. Hindi film producers are paying attention to how fan bases are reacting in countries like Japan when they consider new and exotic shooting locations. And an estimated 2011 gross domestic product of USD $4.4 trillion means Indians have money to spend abroad.

But what the B.C. Liberals showed in enthusiasm and zest, they appeared to lack in execution of their message to taxpayers and in their foresight to leverage opportunities. In short, it was a rushed job.

Where was the proof of performance? On the day of the awards show, Premier Christy Clark told reporters the measure of success wasn't just in whether the event sold out BC Place, but in future economic spinoff. There was chatter of film directors in town scoping locations and doing deals. If that was the case, why not line them up in a news conference to talk to British Columbians about it?

If TOIFA was meant to showcase British Columbia to Indian audiences as a tourism destination, where were the beautiful scenic cutaways during performance transitions for audiences watching in India? The opening promotional "Beautiful B.C." video was forgettable. I barely noticed it. We don't even know if it will make broadcast for Indian audiences to see at a later date.

(Canadian Bollywood producer Arjun Sablok did offer up a poignant opening piece -- named The Lucky Ones -- about the Indian immigrant experience in Canada. But it was not exactly a sales job.)

Where were the plugs from the Bollywood stars who found time to thank the premier? Where were the celebrity endorsements to visit www.hellobc.com, Tourism B.C.'s website? Why wasn't there more of an emphasis on B.C.?

History tells us that things that look a disaster in the short term sometimes turn out for the best. The province spent about $800 million on Expo '86. It ran a $311 million deficit, but brought billions back into B.C. in the ensuing years. Downtown Vancouver hotels and restaurants saw a bump in business during a slower time of year. Is it conceivable that B.C. might eventually make its money back and more? Yes. Will we see real proof of that in the short term, or in time for the provincial election May 14? No.

OBVIOUS POLITICAL INTERLUDE

Any remaining benefit of the doubt that the B.C. Liberals would keep TOIFA about the movies and not about the politics evaporated like burning celluloid during a long segment between character actor Boman Irani and Finance Minister Mike de Jong. For de Jong, a known Indophile, this may well have been one of the highlights of a 20 plus year career in politics - and perhaps a swansong. De Jong quipped on stage, "You never know when you'll be looking for work."

But it was also a transparent performance for votes. A journalist timed his presence on stage at 17 minutes, during which he attempted to recite Hindi film dialogue, dance filmi style (complete with pelvic thrusts), and hand out "toffee" awards (he meant TOIFA).

There was also no mistaking the Punjabi flavour of the broadcast. Knowing the South Asian diaspora in Metro Vancouver skews heavily Punjabi, producers wisely blended dance, poetry, and plenty of shout outs in the native style of that region into the show to keep the hometown audience happy.

But the politicians were playing to the Punjabis too. At one point Premier Clark, on stage with show choreographer Shiamak Davar greeted him in Punjabi. Davar is known to be most comfortable in English and Gujurati. Potential voters, on the other hand...

The B.C. Liberals viewed TOIFA as a box of ladoos (Indian sweets) they could deliver to hungry ethnic voters. Instead, it turned into a political grenade in their hands. Can they diffuse it in time for the election? We'll know soon enough.





CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post referred to the absence of a promotional Tourism B.C. video at the opening of the TOIFA awards ceremony. A "Beautiful B.C." clip was played at BC Place Saturday night.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3024081 2013-04-06T23:40:37-04:00 2013-04-07T02:55:45-04:00

Shachi Kurl http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shachi-kurl/
In honour of the Times of India Film Awards in Vancouver this week, I present to you Bollywood's top 5 scandals of all-time. Totally subjective of course.

5) Did Big B and Rekha really have an affair?

Did they? Or didn't they? Forty years later, we're still wondering. From their first film pairing together in Do Anjanee (two strangers), the first couple of the disco-era, Rekha and Amitabh Bachchan, sizzled on-screen. He was the "angry young man" of Bollywood. She was all glitz and glamour. Together, they made magic on screen with a chemistry so intense it had many Indian movie goers in the '70s and '80s wondering if all that emotion really switched off when the director yelled "cut!" Alas, Bachchan was already married to actress Jaya Bhaduri. (Their son, Abishek is a TOIFA headliner).

Tongues wagged, audiences wondered. Directors gave coy interviews about the, er, state of affairs. But no one acknowledged anything. Rekha married more than once, never happily. The last movie the on-screen and maybe off-screen lovers did together was 1981's Silsila, a story thought to reflect what was really going on in their lives. In a casting coup, Jaya played Amitabh's wife. Rekha was cast as the other woman. We may never know what happened, but it remains the most speculated Bollywood love triangle of all time.

4) How did Divya Bharti die?

She was a Sridevi look-alike, a teen breakout star, a Filmfare award winner, and an accomplished dancer. Bharti quit school to realize her Bollywood dreams. They came true with 1990's Bobbili Raja and other hits. But big success brought big trouble including a tumultuous secret marriage to producer Sajid Nadiadwala. They were only together for eight months. There were other concerning allegations of self-harm, whispers of drug use.

She reached her greatest career heights by the age of 19 and then fell to her death from a balcony in 1993. On her last day alive, she met with a costume designer at Nadiadwala's Mumbai apartment. Within hours she was dead. The rumour mill went into overtime. Had her marriage been in trouble? Was her husband in league with a well-known gangster, Dawood Ibrahim? Was she high at the time she fell from that fifth floor balcony? Was she drunk? Was she pushed? It was ruled an accident. But to this day, many Bollywood fans don't buy it. The tragic circumstances surrounding her death still remain a mystery. April 5, 2013 marks the 20th anniversary of her death.

3) Preity vs. the Mob

Pretty Preity Zinta was (and arguably remains) Bollywood's "Queen of Hearts." Dimpled, darling, but deep, she could emote like no one's business; say a lot without whispering a word. Ten years ago, no one was more bankable at the box office than Zinta. But, she possessed something else that seemingly no one in Bollywood had at the time: the courage of her convictions. In 2003, she took the stand as a witness at the trial of film financiers Bharat Shah and Nazim Rizvi, accused of having links to the city's underworld. While Bollywood heroes like Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan buckled under fear and retracted complaints to police, Zinta bravely told the world a gangster named Chhota (Little) Shakeel had phoned her in April 2000 several times, demanding millions of rupees in protection money. At the time, many speculated Zinta's career would end for daring to speak out. It didn't. She moved on to other successes like buying a professional cricket team. Now she doesn't have to play for the boys on the big screen anymore. They play for her on the pitch.

2) "Killer" Salman Khan?

He sports some of the biggest guns among Bollywood action heroes thanks to all the time he spends in the gym. But what Salman Khan boasts in muscles he lacks in grey matter, and is now facing two separate charges for ending lives.

The justice system, as with many countries, moves at a glacial pace in India. Late last month, he was hauled into court, charged with "culpable homicide not amounting to murder". The charges stem from a September 2002 hit-and-run case when, in the middle of the night, Khan drove his land cruiser over five homeless people sleeping on the street in the Bandra neighbourhood of Mumbai. One person was killed and four were hurt. Meanwhile, Khan and fellow stars Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre are now charged with illegally hunting blackbucks, a protected species in Rajasthan 14 years ago -- remember what I said about slow justice? Unfortunately, Khan's career has neither been run over nor shot in the interim.

1) Sanjay Dutt: India's hope, India's shame

His parents were Bollywood royalty, embodying new hope for a newly independent country. His mother, Nargis was a Muslim while his father, Sunil Dutt, was Hindu. They met on the set of Mother India, a film from Hindi cinema's golden era, filled with sacrifice, heartache, and dreams for a new nation. When there was a fire on set, Sunil rushed in and saved Nargis. Their love story and mixed marriage came to symbolize all the good things that were possible for India. Little did they know their son Sanjay would follow them into films, becoming one of Bollywood's biggest stars.

Dynasties are common in Bollywood. However, being charged with weapons possession in the wake of terrible, bloody Hindu-Muslim tension is not. Sanjay was found with guns given to him by the same Mumbai gangsters behind the deadly 1993 serial bombings that killed 257 people and injured 713. The bombings were motivated by religious tension. Dutt, born out of a Hindu-Muslim union, claimed he needed the weapons to protect his family. The courts didn't buy it, and he was eventually sentenced to six years in prison. After years out on parole, a judge last month ordered him back to jail. His parents, mercifully, are no longer alive to see the tarnish that covers their own "golden boy" born in a "Golden Era."

]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3023939 2013-04-05T18:39:26-04:00 2013-04-05T18:51:04-04:00

Shachi Kurl http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shachi-kurl/
When you watch a Hindi movie -- it's not Shah Rukh Khan or Katrina Kaif actually crooning to their on-screen lovers. It's the so-called "playback singers," the ones with the pipes American Idol wannabes can only dream about. If dancing is a Bollywood talent actors must perfect, then so is lip-dubbing.

You would think this might create a resentful sub-class of singers toiling in anonymity -- but not so. From Asha Bhosle to Sonu Nigam and perhaps most famously A.R. Rahman, playback singers are stars in their own right, touring the world and singing to their own dedicated fan bases.

So it was Thursday night, at the first of two concerts for the Times of India Film Awards (TOIFA) in Vancouver. Dubbed a "Musical Extravaganza" at the Pacific Coliseum, headliners included Kavita Seth, Sunidhi Chauhan, Mohit Chauhan, Hard Kaur (yes that's a play on words) and Shalmali Kholgade.

Not exactly household names in the west, but known among the South Asian diaspora for their dulcet tones on the silver screen.

Of course, as with all things TOIFA, there is an undercurrent of politics. The B.C. premier cut a cheque for $11 million of taxpayers' dollars to bring the awards show and musical acts to Vancouver, with the promise it would all come back -- plus more -- into provincial coffers through economic development and tourism spinoffs. Indeed, the show's MC, Neha Dhupia, mentioned audiences in India were watching the broadcast back home. But the first test came down to how well tickets sales had gone here.

The event was hyped as being "virtually" sold out. About 10 minutes before the show was about to start, seats were only half full. Things kicked off with singer and dance master Shiamak Davar just after 8:30 pm.

When the lights went down, and the volume came up, audiences got serious about listening. I am no expert head-counter, but I would estimate that an hour after the show began, about 80 per cent of bums were in seats. Not a sellout after all. But not the disaster political critics were predicting. Still, when taxpayer money is on the line, scrutiny is rightly intense.

So onto the music, the maasti, the dance and the song. I have to say, Vancouver is a tough crowd to impress, but the artists delivered. Shalmali Kholgade brought dancers in three-inch heels to strike their poses on chairs. No one fell off. Mohit Chauhan played guitar and sang the audience love songs. Hard Kaur brought bhangra-hip hop fusion -- and pyrotechnics. Because, well, who doesn't like that?

There were a few audio and feedback issues: I personally found the volume amped too loud at times (yes, yes, it's a concert I know). I felt bad for the three-month-old baby crying in front of me. She probably found it too loud too.

But in the first half of the show, no one hit any bum notes -- and by the end of the night, most bums were still in their seats.


]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3015003 2013-04-04T14:33:01-04:00 2013-04-04T14:39:04-04:00

Shachi Kurl http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shachi-kurl/ Times of India Film Awards in Vancouver this week, it won't be the Harlem Shake we'll see. Not Gangnam style, not even Indian Classical style. It will be Shiamak style.

Named for Shiamak Davar, dance master to some of the biggest names in the commercial Hindi cinema industry known as Bollywood, it may be best described as a fusion of ballet, contemporary, and some of the most basic, yet challenging, body movements associated with the ancient Indian practice of yoga. Its essence includes strong core movement and earthy, primitive performances.

As with all dance, the key is to make it look easy, fluid, graceful in front of the audience without letting anyone know how much your muscles have been screaming, or how grueling practice has been.

And he'll be looking for perfection in those performances Thursday and Saturday night from the likes of superstars Abishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif.

The pressure is on. Fatigue etched on everyone's face in rehearsals will be replaced with big smiles on stage. For the younger amateur dancers, some who are local with no experience with Shiamak style, (he divides his time between Mumbai and North Vancouver) it is the pressure of learning and remembering all the right moves on the biggest stage they've performed on to date.

For Davar, it's a different expectation and pressure. TOIFA represents a homecoming. Students from the dance schools he began setting up two decades ago are coming from four continents to join him. A-list stars who created unforgettable performances on the silver screen thanks to his choreography are arriving to reprise the hits. And he has to deliver.

Blog continues after slideshow:



But the performance gene is in his genealogy. Shiamak Davar was born into one of Bollywood's first families, the great-nephew of stars who were silent-film era pioneers in Indian cinema. His great aunt? A half-Greek, half-British woman named Nadia, or "Fearless Nadia," who left her mark with early movie-goers by running on top of moving trains -- 50 years before Daniel Craig's 007 did it in "Skyfall," I might add.

In their book, Indian Cinema, the Bollywood Saga, authors Dinesh Raheja and Jitendra Kothari describe Nadia as "Hindi film's first and only female action star" who "predated the feminist movement as an independent minded woman."

Apparently, Davar inherited that independent mindedness. In a family where acting was in the blood, he gravitated towards music, singing, and dancing. His parents insisted on a university education first, so his dance training did not begin in childhood, but in his early 20s. While his parents were ultimately supportive, others in the family threatened to disown him for gravitating towards "effeminate" dance.

But he didn't care. Innovators are used to scrutiny and criticism. New York critics were sometimes hard on Bob Fosse, Martha Graham was accused of staying on stage well past her prime.

Instead, Davar struck out to London, studying with award-winning choreographer Chet Walker. It was a student-guru relationship that would eventually lead him to the U.S -- and the chance to work with Debbie Allen, famous, for among other things, being the lead choreographer on the 1980s film and TV hit, "Fame."

Davar established his first dance studio in India in the 1990s. At the time, lithe, toned dance students wearing leotards were considered indecent among Mumbai's chattering classes. His first students were his friends. But eventually one of his disciples caught the starry-eye of an up and coming Bollywood star: Shah Rukh Khan. Khan would go on to marry her. Davar would go on to choreograph 1997's "Dil To Pagal Hai," which in turn would go on to become a major hit.

His successes have since included choreographing more Bollywood blockbusters: Taal, Kisna, and Yuvvraaj. He's designed and arranged dances for both the 2006 and 2010 opening ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games.

What are the greatest lessons he's learned along the way? "Compassion and kindness," he says. "You have to give back." He does that through his charities, including the Victory Arts Foundation.

This week, Davar's journey takes 10,000 more carefully choreographed steps towards his international success. You would think the experience would be all ho-hum by now, but no.

"TOIFA is very special to me," he says. "It's happening in my second home."

And there's another reason: his 90-year-old mother, the professor who forced her son to study economics before studying dance, will be coming from India to watch.

"She's coming all the way. I'll be performing myself."

Expect the hits. But great-aunt Nadia, no running atop moving trains.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2564964 2013-01-28T14:53:23-05:00 2013-03-30T05:12:01-04:00

Shachi Kurl http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shachi-kurl/ Downton Abbey, there was Derbyshire, the county in which stood the fine grounds of Pemberly, the house whose brooding, handsome master, Fitzwilliam Darcy, turned Colin Firth into an instant star, capturing the hearts of viewers around the world when BBC first aired its miniseries, Pride and Prejudice, almost a generation ago.

But before Firth, the real credit goes to Darcy's creator, author Jane Austen, who lived and wrote more than a century before TV was ever invented.

This day, this week, marks 200 years since readers first clapped eyes on what was to become one of the most memorable first lines in English literature: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

Thus begins the story of Darcy, that single man in possession of a good fortune, good looks, and a good deal of arrogance, and Elizabeth: smart, beautiful, headstrong, and as good as penniless. By all accounts, (for you Downton devotees out there) their love story seems as doomed as Tom Branson and Lady Sybil's.

What unfolds instead is a romance that spans the ages and remains as captivating as anything Shakespeare put his name or pen to. In the last decade, Pride and Prejudice has spawned spin-offs as diverse as Hollywood hit "Bridget Jones' Diary," to Bollywood homage in 2004's "Bride and Prejudice," to best-selling mystery author PD James' 2011 tribute Death Comes to Pemberly to the regrettable Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

What's with the mystique?

Perhaps it's that two centuries after her characters first sprang from Austen's imagination, freshly coifed, wearing figure-forgiving empire frocks, embroidery in hand, we still identify with the heroines of her world.

After all, what could be more contemporary than Elizabeth Bennett's rapier wit, acerbic tongue and her chutzpah? Lizzie has the guts to turn down Mr. Wrong (in the form of a bumbling Mr. Collins) when Mr. Right is nowhere in the picture. And when he does show up, she makes Darcy work for her affections, holding out for love when poverty dictates she really ought to be marrying for money.

Be it 1813 or 2013, seeing the smouldering tension between two lovers who haven't quite figured out they're mad about each other, well that's timeless too.

In some ways, Pride and Prejudice shows how far women have come, or haven't.
Lizzie is censured for her independence, and for being resigned to the fact that she would, as she confided to sister Jane, "end an old maid, and teach your ten children to embroider cushions and play their instruments very ill."

It highlights the desperate conditions of women of the 1800s. Barred by class from earning their own income, barred by law from inheriting property, they lived an anxious, frantic existence, where a proper young lady's full-time occupation was to find a rich husband. You think the bar scene tiresome? That online dating is only for drips? Imagine your only chances at economic security and upward mobility depending solely on your success at making small talk at a few dances every year.

Fast forward 200 years. We have the vote, we have property. We have reproductive rights and laws protecting us from gender discrimination in the workplace. We build careers, buy homes, manage car payments, travel and pursue interesting hobbies on the side.

Sadly, for those of us still single, everyone still wants to know when you're going to settle down.

How pervasive is Jane-Mania? Consider that five years ago, some 550 delegates came to Vancouver to attend a convention of the Jane Austen Society of North America. Or that this anniversary is being marked with a 12-hour Internet broadcast of fans and academics and even celebrities reading the novel in real time to millions around the world.

One wonders what the snarky rich dowager in Pride and Prejudice, Lady Catherine De Bourgh of Rosings Park, would think about Lady Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham. I think Lady Catherine would seriously disapprove of Lady Violet's practicality. I think Lady Violet wouldn't care.

It's why, when love conquers all, Lady Catherine isn't invited to the wedding of her nephew Darcy to the lovely Elizabeth. And it's why we continue to love Pride and Prejudice, all these 200 years later.

Author's note: this post includes a few passages I first wrote for a column published in October 2007.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2538450 2013-01-24T00:14:34-05:00 2013-03-25T05:12:01-04:00

Shachi Kurl http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shachi-kurl/
A chance meeting that develops into forbidden love? Bollywood. The moment the evil uncle clunks granny on the head and makes off with the family fortune, leaving the heroine a pauper? Bollywood. But who thought Bollywood, India's prolific Hindi film industry, would be at the centre of a dramatic saga of its own, playing out on location over the next five months across British Columbia's political soundstage?

In an election year, the announcement of an $11 million investment from the B.C. government to host the first-ever Times of India Film Awards (TOIFA) was inevitably going to be high-profile — and contentious.

And so, cue the fight scene. The premier, her cabinet, and her party, against B.C.'s home-grown film industry, and the opposition B.C. New Democrats. Sitting in darkness, watching the tableau, popcorn in hand, are B.C. voters, especially those belonging to the South Asian diaspora.

Now this wouldn't be a true Bollywood saga unless there were three or four story lines running concurrent. So too is the case when arguing the value of bringing this awards show to Vancouver. Allow me to separate them out.

THE POLICY

There are those (including me) who say this is the exactly the type of thing all governments should be doing in the name of economic development. India is a huge market, with a 2011 estimated GDP of $4.4 trillion US.

The country boasts a booming middle class — more nouveau riche than even Dubai can entertain, and a healthy relationship with Canada, and particularly B.C. and Ontario, as a result of large émigré communities settled here.

In pursuing economic payoffs, previous governments have spent more. B.C. spent $925 million to host the 2010 Olympic Games. The Games broke even, according to VANOC. The full economic effects of having the world's eyes trained on us have yet to be tallied.

We spent about $800 million on Expo '86. It ran a $311-million deficit, but brought billions back into B.C. in the ensuing years.

The B.C. government is estimating a payoff of $13 million to $18 million in spending during the awards. TOIFA board member A.P. Parigi, speaking on the Bill Good Show, predicted an economic multiplier effect that will be seen in two to three years, when millions of moneyed Indians choose Vancouver as a tourism destination.

Could $11 million be spent on other more pressing needs? Yes. But if we agree that you sometimes have to spend money to make money, and as long as this is money being spent wisely, it's the responsibility of any government to pursue economic gain where and when it can. Indeed, the bid for the 2010 Olympics was a process started by then-NDP premier Glen Clark. His government opened a trade office in India too.

THE POLITICS

Having read all that, you think it would be case closed, roll credits, but for the horror-show optics surrounding this announcement. The politics of telling people you're spending a whack of cash to draw foreign filmmakers and crew to B.C. while 4,000 B.C.-based film industry employees gather to protest the decline of their trade doesn't make for happy endings. People who live in B.C. will vote in May's general election. People from Mumbai won't.

This billion-dollar industry claims it's dying. The Christy Clark government says it's put $285 million in tax credits and won't spend any more. Meantime, those incentives, originally offered to lure productions north of the border from Hollywood grow bigger in Ontario and Quebec as they seek to undercut B.C.'s offerings. It's never good when we fight amongst ourselves.

Whether B.C.'s film industry can sustain this as a wedge issue during the election campaign remains to be seen. And if the B.C. Liberals can't find a way to appease the industry, it may walk away and yield ground on this issue to the NDP, seeking other voters instead... which brings us back to Bollywood, and one hell of a photo-op.

No matter which side of the political divide you're on, pictures with India's biggest celluloid stars are valuable currency to politicians wooing votes in the South Asian community. Or at least that's the thinking. In an age of global celebrity, there are elements of truth to it. The premier smiling with a Shah Rukh Khan or Amitabh Bachan trumps the Opposition leader smiling with a local community do-gooder on the interest-o-meter every time.

But will it be enough? Liberal strategists following what they believe to be outgoing Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's path to electoral victory may be disappointed. His government brought the International Indian Film Academy Awards to Toronto in 2011, and the Liberal leader mugged for every possible photo call he could. Did South Asian Bollywood fans cheer him like a matinee idol when he walked on stage? Would they have probably cheered if it had been Gary Bettman or Oscar the Grouch? Yes. It's the IIFAs! Everyone's in a good mood!

It's also worth pointing out that big moves were made on that campaign, notably, the cancellation of a controversial contract to build a power plant in Mississauga. The cost of that cancellation — $180 million — ended McGuinty's premiership. In other words, Bollywood ain't no magic bullet.

NDP insiders find themselves rather bemused by the whole thing. After all, they reason, New Democrats have a longer relationship with and deeper reach into the community. They have more South Asian candidates running in this election than the Liberals. Will it be enough to beat the star power a Priyanka Chopra might bring to the ballot box? We'll see.

THE PRICE CHECK

So put the politics aside, and let's go back to check the promised benefits of bringing TOIFA to B.C. against reality.

One of the carrots being dangled is bringing Hindi film production to B.C. Newsflash: that's been going on for years, under both NDP and Liberal governments. Consider 1997's "Pardes" — shot in Vancouver, along with "Koi Mil Gaya," released in 2003, and 2011's "Thank You." Chances are though B.C.'s economy will thank Bollywood if more decide to come.

The premier touts the Times of India Group's reach of 90 million people as people will be influenced by all the lovely things it will say about Vancouver. But a check of the Times of India main webpage the day after the announcement reveals no mention of the awards or our fair city. Maybe it will. Hopefully soon.

Finally, that $13 million to $18 million anticipated payoff? It's based on projections from Ontario hosting the IIFAs, a much more established awards show. Though the TOIFAs are being hailed in B.C. media as the "Bollywood Oscars," that honour actually belongs to the 58-year-old Filmfare awards, handed out just days ago. The IIFAs might be compared to the Golden Globes. The awards coming to Vancouver may be better described as the MTV Video Music Awards.

The good news is people love awards shows. As long as fans and stars turn up, it may not much matter. But in an industry where starlets and heroes exit stage left weekly, the pressure is on for TOIFA to deliver the biggest luminaries and headliners to ensure the Clark government achieves its projected return on investment.

THE PRONOUNCEMENT

Still with me? Emotionally spent? Worn out? Welcome to Bollywood. No flick ever lasts less than 2.5 hours. Ever. So how does this story conclude? If it's a happy ending for B.C. taxpayers, you'll hear about it. If it's a happy ending for the B.C. Liberals, you'll hear about it. And if it's not — well — you'll hear about that too. Because tragedy or comedy, there's always plenty of Dhoom! Dham! Dshoom! and Dhamaka! in Bollywood. And in B.C. politics too.


]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2341808 2013-01-03T18:25:27-05:00 2013-03-05T05:12:01-05:00

Shachi Kurl http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shachi-kurl/ clearly partisan political website to discredit Opposition Leader Adrian Dix.

Now, when a team is this far offside, there's no doubt you have to call the play. Still, the breathless apoplexy demonstrated by some members of the fourth estate screams for context. Not excuse making, but a lifting of the curtain a little on life in the basement boiler rooms of B.C. politics.

To better understand why the media outrage felt so cynical, you have to understand the nature of the caucus job and all its complications.

Just who are these caucus staffers? Many descriptors glamorize them as "key operatives" or "senior strategists." But mostly they are young, in their 20s and 30s, hired by both government and the opposition to work for MLAs. You, the taxpayer, provide their salaries via the budget each party is allocated by the B.C. Legislature.

Some are propelled to Victoria by true belief in party dogma, others by ambition and some are lured by campaign directors who fill their heads with promises of opportunities to broker power. In reality, those often starry-eyed staffers find themselves working punishing hours for relatively crappy pay, little job security (no gold-plated severance packages here) and the wrath of their political masters should they fail to meet some pretty insane expectations.

They literally work underground in the basements of the legislature, where in the event of an earthquake, they are doomed. For those lucky enough to have windows — the view is of other people's feet — and sometimes a curious seagull.

Ostensibly, caucus staffers on the government side are supposed to research and highlight the fine work that backbench MLAs are doing on behalf of their constituents. It's a challenging prospect when anything newsworthy, noteworthy or remotely positive is usually scooped up by cabinet ministers or the premier's office.

Often, they are left to clean up the communications messes that occur when a backbencher goes offside. Little wonder then, that some spend their time in caucus trying like hell to get out of the basement and into positions with nominally less-partisan government communications departments.

Caucus staffers on the Opposition side are supposed to research and highlight the fine work their MLAs are doing on behalf of constituents. It's an even more challenging prospect when you consider that most of the attention is focused on the Opposition leader and a handful of critics.

Both sides are responsible for enticing reporters into picking up stories, and stick-handling the demands that come along: "Can I have this exclusively? ... Can you find me a victim who will go on TV by 1:30 this afternoon? ... Can you hold this until tomorrow? I have a tee time."

And every day, staffers on both sides walk a line between conduct that, per their paycheque, is in the public interest, and per the demands of the job, is highly partisan political activity.

During the legislative session, a big part of the day is spent preparing for Question Period. Opposition staff begin around 6 a.m., scanning news, mining horror stories from constituency offices, and working the phones to construct questions to be asked by your MLAs (earning, by the way, at least twice that of some of those staff).

They hope said questions will land embarrassing blows on the jaws of the government's senior ranks. The pressure is intense. No explosive stuff? No face time for their MLAs on the news.

Government caucus staff start early too — scanning the same headlines and working the phones to come up with plausible answers to deftly bat away the potentially embarrassing questions that will arise in QP. Save your masters by warning them about what might blow up in the news cycle? You've done your job. Get caught flat-footed? Not good.

The purpose of all this again? It's all for you, dear taxpayer, to demonstrate that your elected officials are doing the people's work. Staffers are instruments of this pure and well-intentioned mission. Officially, the political payoff is just the cherry on the sundae.

DANDY BONUS, FRINGE BENEFIT

If an NDP caucus researcher's hard work exposing severe health gaps and patient woes serve this purpose while ALSO making the Liberals look bad, well that's a dandy bonus.

If a Liberal caucus staffer's diligent digging up of an old quote or policy stance in which the NDP actually agrees with the government of the day — well that work is just aimed at demonstrating a solidly performing administration right? The potential flakiness of the Opposition is a mere fringe benefit.

And like brokers in a commodities market, win or lose, it's the journalists who report on the results who have the good day. I should know. I was one of them.

The Standards of Conduct governing caucus staffers unequivocally states that political party activities must not happen on taxpayer-funded time, nor on taxpayer-funded equipment. Clearly, in the case of the anti-Dix website, some staffers were well over the line. The reporter who broke the story deserves his scoop.

But those with an up-close view of party politics in Victoria know how the line is blurred in more subtle ways by caucus staffers on both sides, on any given day.

The whole thing reminds me of a scene from Casablanca. Capt. Louis Renaud, under pressure from his political masters, shuts down Rick's Café Americain and orders everyone out.

"How can you close me up? On what grounds?" demands Rick. Replies Renaud, "I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on here," just as a croupier walks by and hands Renaud his winnings.

Even if the roulette wheel stopped spinning at Rick's, caucus staffers, hired to do a unique job, will have to continue to straddle, and yes occasionally even cross that fine political/public interest line. It's what many cynical friendships and party victories are made of. But please, let's not feign shock.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2259042 2012-12-07T14:41:55-05:00 2013-02-06T05:12:01-05:00

Shachi Kurl http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shachi-kurl/
And under no circumstances, none, should the existence of this baby, or this fetus, have led to the unspeakably tragic circumstances under which a nurse at a London hospital apparently took her own life.

I am happy for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge the way I am happy for any couple that is ready and excited to start a family. Even though they have courted the culture of celebrity in which they now live, I feel sorry for them: forced to divulge her condition weeks before most mothers-to-be — wary of the viability of a pregnancy in its first trimester — might blab the big news.

U.S. talk shows even speculated as to when the royal fetus might actually have been conceived. Eww.

Will and Kate will spend the next several months under even more intense scrutiny than usual, because we, the consuming public, are supposedly interested. But beyond celebrity interest, Middleton's pregnancy is wholly unconnected to me — and frankly, to most Canadians. We aren't going to be invited to her baby shower. I will not be cuddling, kissing and playing with this baby. I will not be asked to babysit.

The only tangible connection this unborn child has to Canada is its place in line to the throne. But given that recent polling suggests only one-third of Canadians surveyed say they'd like to see this country remain a monarchy, given that there are two more heirs set to reign first, and given that the Windsors live remarkably long lives, it may come to pass that by the time "Baby X" ascends the throne, we may no longer be a constitutional monarchy.

People here love their Queen. They will feel more ambivalent about her successors, both living and not-quite-yet of this realm.

Australia, with its fierce republican sentiment, ought to care even less. And yet that country produced the two imbeciles who thought it would be fun and "lighthearted" to breach one woman's privacy, and literally destroy the life of another.

Any broadcasting standards that exist in that country surely couldn't have been followed. Was there journalistic impetus to lie about who they were and then run tape, without anyone's consent, of a flustered nurse giving intimate details of the duchess' condition? No.

Was the story aimed at exposing lax security? No. It was two yahoo morning show DJs doing what yahoo morning show DJs do. They've since been yanked off the air. That should give them time to reflect on the fact that one of the two nurses involved in their stunt apparently killed herself after the fact.

What a mess. It was inevitable that Kate's pregnancy would have given birth to breathless media coverage and celebration whenever it was divulged. It should have been happy, frothy, celebrity news. Instead, a woman going through a very rough, early pregnancy goes to hospital and the whole world knows about it.

A nurse, fooled by broadcasters, mistakenly transfers a call that should have been hung up on, and is found dead days later. It is a sad, macabre state of affairs. The worst part of it is: we should be ready for more. Because in the long term, nothing is likely to change.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2229519 2012-12-03T16:28:36-05:00 2013-02-02T05:12:01-05:00

Shachi Kurl http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shachi-kurl/
Just a couple of weeks ago, mayors and councillors from across Canada took one single demand to federal politicians on Parliament Hill in Ottawa during the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' advocacy days: give them more money to fix our roads, repair our bridges and replace our sewers.

They further demanded: provide that money, which will run into the billions, over a 20-year period. Make sure that funding is stable, and maintained.

It's a tall order. And so far no one has any really good answers about where that funding is supposed to come from, with the exception of taxpayers wallets. But perhaps from the city government perspective, there is strength in numbers and geography.

An online survey of a representative national sample of 1,001 American adults, conducted by Vision Critical, found people in the United States look at renewing and rebuilding infrastructure as one of the key challenges facing American cities.

The survey found 39 per cent of respondents identified unemployment as the most important issue currently facing their city or town. More than a third of respondents felt traffic congestion has worsened.

A majority of respondents said they are satisfied with the way cities and towns are dealing with specific issues, such as providing good sanitation services, ensuring public safety, protecting the environment and having proper public transit services.

But fewer respondents, just under half, gave cities good marks on renewing and rebuilding infrastructure and spending tax dollars wisely.

CITIES SUMMIT

The full findings will be discussed at The New American City, a summit being held this week at the Kauffman Center in Kansas City, Mo. The summit will draw business and local government leaders from more than 50 U.S. and Canadian cities.

The argument they'll be bringing to the conference floor? That the crumbling infrastructures whose refurbishment we may view at net drains on our wallets in fact hold value and the potential for economic boom if they are properly rebuilt and maintained.

They will ask whether the private sector has a role to play in this critical investment. What will citizens think about private investment in public infrastructure on either side of the border?

As city leaders compare notes, their strategy will have to involve engaging citizens who are ultimately on the financial hook for the improvements they say they'd like to see. More than ever, citizens are showing us they are interested in sharing their views via social media.

Local government must find ways to harness this openness as North Americans seek to communicate what they need from their cities to their leadership. The technology exists, developed by leading technology and public policy firms, including Vision Critical's SparqPublic software.

Now it's a matter of taking citizen engagement beyond the town hall approach by using online technology that enables two way conversations, education and meaningful discussions about the tradeoffs that will inevitably be involved in deciding the futures of our cities.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2117295 2012-11-12T11:16:54-05:00 2013-01-12T05:12:01-05:00

Shachi Kurl http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shachi-kurl/
Though it will not warrant a Hallmark network movie of the week, the news was our own holiday miracle. Here was sis - taking time out of an insane fall work schedule - schlepping it to the West Coast all the way from Ottawa to celebrate a holy day that happened to fall in the middle of the week.

I re-wrote the Irving Berlin classic and started singing, "I'll be home for Diwali, you can plan on me. Please have tea, and jalebi, and diyas, lit brightly..."

As shared experiences go, the biggest festival on the Hindu calendar has come a long way in Canada. In elementary school, classmates insisted I was making Diwali up as way to explain why I was wearing new clothes to school.

Today, many Canadians understand the basic narrative: that Diwali celebrates the homecoming of an exiled God-king, that it represents the triumph of good over evil, or darkness over light. Our neighbours now understand why, in lieu of diyas in rainy Vancouver, the Christmas lights are turned on for a night in October or November instead.

What's behind the transformation? In my mind, it's changing demographics and wily politics. More people of South Asian descent living in Canada means more people observing this time of religious and cultural significance. More teachers, bosses, friends and colleagues at work and at school become aware by extension.

And so-called samosa politics - the practice of politicians courting ethnic votes - has freed up funds for city halls, temples, community centres and cultural groups to hold more inclusive, well organized, well advertised celebrations that were much smaller, more private affairs a generation before.

In short, we've come a long way, Desis. But the true societal shared experience of Diwali remains elusive. Most Diwali celebrations are happening over this long weekend, rescheduled to fit our normal routines. How many children will stay home from school on Tuesday? (Math tests come first!) How many parents will manage to swing the day off to clean their houses, create brightly coloured rangoli patterns on the front steps, and visit friends?

(BAPI ROY CHOUDHURY/AFP/Getty Images)

We will not witness the national migration, the business and government slow down that occurs in China around the time of Lunar New Year, and India around the consecutive festivals of Dashera, Durgashtmi and Diwali. Toronto's Pearson airport will not be packed with frantic Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists trying to make it home for the holiday.

Ultimately, in a lot of non-Christian households, Christmas is still a bigger deal. Why? Because we're surrounded by the holiday spirit. Because we've already got the time off. Because joy, peace and goodwill are pretty good themes to get behind.

Still, if we really want to have a conversation about integration and the joyousness of diversity in the country, we should be discussing whether Canada, founded on the Judeo-Christian values of the English and French, is ready to consider introducing other religious days, such as Lunar New Year or Diwali, to the official roster of statutory days off.

Now I acknowledge, from me, any talk about more stat holidays may seem contradictory. My on-the-record comments about new holidays reflect my belief that they are probably better politics than policy because of the economic costs involved.

In B.C., a new Family Day holiday has been pegged to a fixed date in February. But as long as it's coming, might those of us with non-Christian religious days to observe be better served if some official days off (hello, August long weekend) were re-assigned as official floater statutory holidays instead? Take the day when your religious holiday arrives, or for our atheist friends, whenever you feel like it.

My assessment is that Canadians are not quite there yet. Those changing demographics and wily politicians are still concentrated in this country's urban centers. It may be unfair to spring too much change on rural, more traditional Canada too soon. But 20 years from now, I sincerely hope getting home for Diwali - a holy day that isn't Christmas - isn't the miracle that sis' arrival represents. I hope it's part of a shared experience, a celebration, a homecoming in the truest sense of the word.



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