Page 65 - English Tehelka Issue 3&4

• ‘Acting in Hollywood theStack FALLING IN LOVE WITH

doesn’t count in India’ A Time of mAdness: A memoir of PArTiTion A SEX WORKER IN INDIA
The Buddha of the Brothel is a poignant view of the
By Salman Rashid; Aleph Book Company world of godmen and spiritual seekers
Acting in Hollywood, which is often seen as a career
boost, didn’t work for Nimrat Kaur. She claims During the chaos of partition in 1947, something dreadful hap- When Kris made a trip to India to study Ayur-
that her stint in the West isn’t counted as work pened in the city of Jalandhar in Punjab. As a result of this, Salman vedic massage, he never thought he would find
experience in India. Nimrat, who appeared in Rashid’s family fled Jalandhar for Pakistan, the newly love, adventure, and heartbreak. Traumatised by
two American shows Homeland and Wayward created country across the border. They were among the loss of his friend and army abuses, Kris came
Pines, believes an actor is only talked about the nearly two million people uprooted from their to India practicing meditation and chastity, but
in the country when he/she is doing films • People in showbiz homes in the greatest transmigration in history. both efforts were turned head over heels when
here. “I have worked abroad but that praise junkies: Bhatt Besides those who fled, other members of the family he caught sight of Radha, a sex worker in Pune’s
doesn’t really translate here as work ex- became part of a grimmer statistic: They featured notorious red-light district.
perience, so I am just two films old. How Most people in showbiz are among the more than one million unfortunate souls Before he knew it, Kris was wrapped up in the
you are remembered in India is by the films praise junkies, says veteran who paid with their lives for the division of India and world of pimps and crime lords, losing his hold
that you are doing here,” the actor said during an filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt. creation of Pakistan. After living in the shadow of his on the life he had been pursuing and all the
interview to a news agency. “The work that I am do- “Most of us in showbiz are family’s tragedy for decades, in 2008, Rashid made dreams of stability he had once built in his head.
ing abroad is relatable and recognised by a handful of praise junkies. ‘Praise me, the journey back to his ancestral village to uncover To be with the woman who had stolen his heart
audience, or say a niche audience who watch shows praise me,’ is our cry. And if the truth. A time of madness tells the story of what he discovered away, a life-altering decision awaited.
that have Indian actors.” After being part of two hit our demand is satiated, we with great poignancy and grace. A true story, The Buddha of the Brothel is a
films, “The Lunchbox” and “Airlift”, the 35-year-old soon realize that the ‘high’ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- poignant look into the world of godmen, spiritual
actor is making her debut on the digital platform with one experiences wears off seekers, and the men and
a web series titled “The Test Case”. Describing this like the ‘high’ of alcohol or The LAsT GirL women whose lives are
web series as a big opportunity for her as an actor, nicotine. Then you are back By Nadia Murad and Jenna Krajeski; Virago ruled by the sex market
Nimrat reportedly said it was a “no brainer” for her pining for more, more, more,” and its overlords. Advaya’s
to give a nod to this project. “I was sure the story will Bhatt recently tweeted. Today, Nadia Murad’s story — as a witness to the Islamic State’s bru- account, written in refresh-
be told with utmost passion and truth. It is a great op- The director, who gave a tality, a survivor of rape, a refugee, a Yazidi — has forced the world ingly sparkling prose, is by
portunity and it would have been silly on my part to let platform to some of Bol- to pay attention to the ongoing genocide in Iraq. It is a call to action, turns anguished, humorous,
it go.” Nimrat’s father was an Indian Army officer and lywood’s best actors like a testament to the human will to survive, and a love letter to a lost hopeful, and bewildered, as
as she has grown up in cantonment areas, it was sort Anupam Kher and Kangana country, a fragile community, and a family torn apart he wades through a world
of a natural habitat for her. “Many a times the set did Ranaut, also believes the by war. “Telling my story of first, surviving genocide he had never expected to
not seem like a set. I felt it was an environment that thirst to be a part of the and then, as a captive of ISIS is not easy, but people encounter.
I remember. Wearing the uniform was a childhood entertainment industry has must know,” she says. The remarkable and coura- The author has honestly
dream. And for the first time in my life, putting up a become very intense among geous story of Nadia Murad, a twenty-three-year-old painted the true picture
costume did not feel like a costume, it was a surreal people. He said, “The thirst to Yazidi woman who is working with Amal Clooney to of Indian brothels and the
experience to put the uniform,” she said. “I don’t think be a part of an entertainment challenge the world to fight ISIS on behalf on her peo- cribbing mentality that
I could have asked for more special experience as an industry has never been as ple, has a foreword by Amal Clooney. A Nobel Peace goes with it. At one instant
actor in this juncture in my life.” intense as it is now.” Prize nominee and the first Goodwill Ambassador one of his Indian friends insists that “these
the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking of the whores are meant for dirty laborers, not for us.”
United Nations and winner of the Vaclav Havel Hu- The novel is slow-paced but unfolds the events
man Rights Prize, Nadia Murad is a courageous young efficiently; at times, the plot is tightly packed.
woman who has endured unimaginable tragedy (losing 18 members The writing of the book flows well and offers
Usage of explicit of her family) and degradation through sexual enslavement to ISIS. wacky, gripping, poignant and evocative tone in
• MISHAP HURTS MISSION ---------------------------------------------------------- the perfect doses. The biography contains all the
flavour of a fiction. Though there is quite a bit of
TOM CRUISE ADMITS HIS BROKEN ANKLE IS DELAYING FILM langUage in my films sex, BoTAny And emPire spirituality across the pages but it doesn’t sound
Tom Cruise recently revealed about his Mission: is not deliberate’ By Patricia Fara; Icon Books preachy or boring.
Impossible 6 accident and said his ankle is still bro- Apparently, there is no dull moment in the
ken. “It’s still broken but I’m doing well. It’s not fully When the imperial explorer James Cook returned from his first voy- whole book. It is like being on a roll to come
healed but we are shooting and we have a release date age to Australia, scandal writers mercilessly satirised the amorous across one adventure after the another. The nar-
so I just have to keep going,” he pointed out. “I spent exploits of his botanist Joseph Banks, whose trousers rative is so descriptive that it feels as if you are
eight to 10 hours a day, seven days a week in rehab were reportedly stolen while he was inside the tent of watching a movie. The scenes unfold before your
because we still have some major stunts to do,” E! Queen Oberea of Tahiti. Was the pursuit of scientific eyes as the characters take over your senses
Online quoted the 55-year-old as saying. Explaining truth really what drove Enlightenment science? In with their story. It is sure to appeal to readers of
the accident that happened in August last year, Cruise Sweden and Britain, both imperial powers, Banks and Gregory Roberts’s Shantaram with its less than
said, “I was chasing Henry and was meant to hit the Carl Linneaus ruled over their own small scientific glittering setting. This literary memoir opens
side of the wall and pull myself over but the mistake empires, promoting botanical exploration to justify readers’ eyes and minds and will not let go easily
was my foot hitting the wall. I knew instantly my an- the exploitation of territories, peoples and natural re- off their imaginations. “This book is one of the
kle was broken and I really didn’t want to do it again sources. Regarding native peoples with disdain, these most unique works of non-fiction you’ll get your
so just got up and carried on with the take.” Anurag Kashyap two scientific emperors portrayed the Arctic North hands on. Especially among those set in India,”
• Cruise mode Mistake is injurious (In an interview) and the Pacific Ocean as uncorrupted Edens. wrote one of the readers of the book.

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