Why Dwayne Johnson’s still The Rock

The actor brings heft and a sense of community to everything he does — be it promoting his new film Red Notice or advertising his tequila brand, Teremana

There are few things that are worth a 4 am wake-up call. Speaking to one of the biggest movie stars in the world (even if it is on Zoom) is one of them. When Dwayne Johnson appears on my screen, he’s three hours late. It’s been a mad rush, with the LA premiere of his new film Red Notice followed by a day packed with interviews (organised by Netflix to promote said film) — mine being the last for the day. But his trademark smile is at the ready.

It’s this sense of warmth that draws people in and which, with a keen business sense, has made the 49-year-old either the highest or second-highest paid actor for the last five years, according to Forbes ’ annual list — with an estimated total earning of $430.4 million. “I think the reason why he’s adored is because he is adoring of other people,” Oprah Winfrey recently told Vanity Fair magazine. “He really is what he appears to be. And people know that.”

(L-R) Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson in ‘Red Notice’

We can see this, for instance, in how he works social media to his advantage. His feed is peppered with his workouts and famous pancake cheat meals, brand endorsements and film promotions. There are photos, too, of him giving his five-year-old daughter, Jasmine, a manicure. After the perfectly-curated Instagram profiles of influencers, this comes across as a busy, joyful mess. But it’s one that you want to be part of.

In a clip that has 6.6 million views, Johnson pulls up in his pickup truck next to a tour bus driving through his Hollywood neighbourhood. “Can you tell me where I can find The Rock?” he asks, as the tourists go wild. In the same Vanity Fair story, he explains, “There was a time when no one knew who I was… I roll the windows down as a reminder. What an incredible position to be in. You got a chance to make somebody’s day.”

Dwayne Johnson in ‘Red Notice’

Thinking about tutus

As he settles down for our chat — his casual grey T-shirt a nice contrast to the previous day’s purple Ralph Lauren jacket on the red carpet — we begin with The Game Plan (2007). One of my go-to feel-good films, it is the last one where he is credited with his WWE stage name, ‘The Rock’. “I had a lot of fun doing that movie,” Johnson tells The Hindu Weekend . “It was a seminal moment in my career.”

It not only marked a departure from being identified as a former wrestling star to being acknowledged as an actor in his own right, but the movie, produced by Disney, also showcased his versatility. As star quarterback Joe Kingman, he plays a typical jock, but by the end of the family comedy, he’s in a tutu, prancing about in a ballet recital.

Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds in ‘Red Notice’

As it turns out, all that dancing was good practice for Red Notice . In a press conference earlier in the day, co-star Gal Gadot playfully recalls a scene where they dance. “I was quite afraid for my feet,” she laughs, as he adds, “She thought she was dancing with a Velociraptor.” Despite his 6’4” muscled frame “he is light on his feet, like a ballerina”, she says.

Art for art’s sake

Johnson plays FBI profiler John Hartley in the art heist film directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber. This is the third time he is collaborating with Thurber, after Central Intelligence and Skyscraper, and their camaraderie on set is well-documented. As is the cutting-edge technology they both enjoy working with. In a recent interview with comicbook.com, Thurber refers to the Komodo, a 6K camera that they attached to a race drone to shoot immersive sequences — like the opening shot where he ‘flies’ the audience over a bridge to Johnson standing at the door of a museum, and the subsequent chase — where the camera never appears to cut.

Dwayne Johnson on set with writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber

It brings to mind that Johnson is often surrounded by relics and artefacts in his films (think the Jumanji films or the more recent Jungle Cruise ). The actor says, “I’ve always had a keen interest in history, and was curious about art. While I’ve been lucky enough to travel and see some interesting places… [ Red Notice ] really opened my eyes to the world’s greatest museums, and the art they hold.” There’s tech, art, and action at every turn — as Agent Hartley teams up with art thief Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds) to bring down his rival, The Bishop (Gadot). Throw in some rudely-interrupted car chases, moped getaways and a narrow shave with a yacht, and you get a film that doesn’t claim to be intellectual, but is great fun.

Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot in a still from ‘Red Notice’

Netflix x action

Netflix has a penchant for big, bold action movies. Think 2019’s 6 Underground , also starring Reynolds. The Michael Bay film had a $150 million budget. Or last year’s Extraction, directed by Sam Hargrave, at $65 million. On a set visit of the Chris Hemsworth-starrer, I had a front-row seat to just how large scale these productions can get. The crew had recreated the bylanes of Bangladesh on the outskirts of Bangkok, and even imported bags of garbage from Kolkata to make the litter on the streets look authentic!

Netflix acquired the distribution rights for Red Notice in 2019. Much of the film was shot before the pandemic lockdowns (shooting started in January 2020) across Atlanta, Rome and Sardinia, with an initial budget of $160 million. By the end, it was closer to $200 million, making it the most expensive Netflix movie ever. At the film’s press conference, Johnson makes a reference to the 1,000+ crew. So one can just imagine the production scale.

Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson at the press conference

There’s something about DJ

While Johnson, DJ to friends and fans, is quite capable of carrying a movie on his own, he also excels in ensemble casts. In his 43-plus film career, Pain & Gain , the Jumanji movies, as well as the Hobbs & Shaw spin-off come to mind, as does his rapport with his co-stars, from Emily Blunt to Liam Hemsworth. While he and Gadot have acted in the Fast and Furious franchise, this is his first with Reynolds. “I’ve known Gal for 10 years, and Ryan for 20,” he says. “The chemistry we share comes with experience and time, and with trust.”

And with ‘keeping it real’ off screen. On November 5, he captioned a red carpet Instagram post from the premiere: “Two of the biggest movie stars in the world. And a guy who’s famous for wearing a fanny pack.” He’s referring, of course, to the iconic image of him wearing a black turtleneck with jeans and a belt bag that he just can’t outrun.

The bankable star — whose fans cut across all ages — has been nominated for multiple People’s Choice Awards for Jungle Cruise and Young Rock. There’s even talk about him running for president of the United States; 46% of Americans polled last month stated they would support his candidacy. Perhaps it’s the family-friendly films like Tooth Fairy and Moana that make him relatable, or it’s his take-charge attitude in disaster movies like Rampage and San Andreas. Perhaps it’s because he’s such a rock!

“I don’t think our Founding Fathers ever envisioned a six-four, bald, tattooed, half-Black, half-Samoan, tequila drinking, pickup truck driving, fanny pack-wearing guy joining their club — but if it ever happens it’d be my honor to serve you, the people,” he’d said back in February. Then last month, he admitted on Instagram, “I’m humbled… but at the end of the day, I don’t know the first thing about politics. I may have some leadership qualities but that doesn’t necessarily make me a great presidential candidate. And that’s where I am today.”

For now, there’s enough DJ to keep us going this weekend — a double bill of Red Notice and Jungle Cruise (both premiered online yesterday), the former on Netflix and the Emily Blunt-starrer on Disney+Hotstar.

I like to be kind and stay in my lane: Ananya Panday

Ananya Panday on her new film, Gehraiyaan ,keeping it relatable on social media, and carefully crafting her career with her film choices

Teen romance to romantic comedy to action drama. In just three films, Ananya Panday, 23, has shown that she will not be put into a box. Her latest, Gehraiyaan , tackles messy relationships and the drama that comes with them (the cast calls it ‘‘domestic noir”). Directed by Shakun Batra ( Kapoor & Sons , Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu ) for Amazon Prime Video, the movie also stars Deepika Padukone and Siddhant Chaturvedi.

While we don’t see much of Panday’s character, Tia, in the trailer, she says there’s a lot more to her role. “I won’t say I have experienced what she has been through, but we do share a lot of characteristics. Like being extremely loving and loyal in any relationship. Perhaps a little dependent and insecure as well…,” she trails off with a smile in a Zoom interview.

The dynamic and complex relationships between the three protagonists are what drew her to the script. That the project was helmed by one of her dream directors was an added bonus. “I don’t think I had a process in terms of acting; I would turn up and just go with the flow. [But] Shakun has been very conscious and mindful with me. He gave me the freedom to explore. When we would block our scenes, he would let us play it out.” This helped Panday build the character on her own terms and connect with the role better. “It’s something I will take forward with me in my career.”

The social network

One area that Panday does not need help with, however, is social media. Her 21 million Instagram followers are privy to her love for fashion, her new projects, and glimpses of her personal life. In her bio, she calls herself a ‘serial chiller’.

“I’m happy just being with my family and closest friends [whom I’ve grown up with]. I love sitting with my pancakes and coffee in a corner and getting lost in a good book,” she says, adding that, at the same time, she is careful about not setting unrealistic expectations for those who follow her. “It isn’t possible to be completely confident, happy, or on point at all times. I like to be kind and stay in my lane,” the actor says.

It’s also why she does not understand cancel culture. “What does that even mean? It’s not like they will cease to exist any more!” This approach to creating safe spaces online gave rise to So Positive (@sopositivedsr) in 2019, her Digital Social Responsibility initiative. The aim is to create awareness around social media bullying, she says. “The fact is that anyone could be in that position; it’s important to discuss these subjects openly.” So, apart from tips on their social media feed, they have also put together a handbook on how to best deal with such situations. During the pandemic, the content pivoted to highlight COVID warriors.

Future projects

On the work front, she’s busy promoting Gehraiyaan at the moment. Liger , with Vijay Devarakonda and Mike Tyson, is set to release in the second half of 2022. There’s also a mystery project she promises we’ll hear about soon. In the meantime, she will begin shooting for Zoya Akhtar’s Kho Gaye Hum Kahan in March.

Standing up for comedy with Jaideep Varma

At one point, almost prophetically, the members of All India Bakchod say that they will definitely get into trouble for their work

Jaideep Varma is intrigued by the stand-up comedy industry. “This is perhaps the only public space where people are pushing the envelope in India today. And there are people who are trying to make a living from that. That is fascinating to me,” he says.

At a time when the country is debating about just how far comics can go with their material before hurting sentiments in a diverse and easily injured society, Jaideep has released his documentary I am Offended under the banner of Being Indian | Originals, by digital video entertainment company Culture Machine.

The 102-minute documentary presents Indian stand-up comedy in the overall context of humour and the culture of offence and how it all harmonises. The film features prominent stand-up comics such as Johnny Lever, Vir Das, Raju Srivastav, Varun Grover, Sanjay Rajoura, Aditi Mittal, Sorabh Pant, Tanmay Bhat, Gursimran Khamba, Ashish Shakya, Rohan Joshi, Rajeev Nigam, Rajneesh Kapoor, and even the legendary literary humorist Pu. La. Deshpande among others.

“The film was made sporadically over a year. If we had worked on it non-stop it would probably have taken three or three-and-a-half-months,” says Jaideep, adding that it wasn’t too difficult to get the comics to open up on the touchy subject. “Except one or two of the more starry ones, it was pretty easy. All of them spoke enthusiastically and generously. Interestingly, Johnny Lever and Raju Srivastav, who are much bigger stars than all the others in the film, were amongst the most cooperative,” he says.

Indeed, their personal anecdotes are the most interesting in the film. Johnny talks about how he created his first original set, Kabbaddi, while walking home from church and how it went on to become a hugely popular audio cassette. Raju explains how times have changed since he started, in a very poignant way. He reminisces, “Mimicry artists used to be hired to perform in the middle of singing performances while the singer changed costumes and gave their voices a break. Gradually, we have become mainstream as well, and are headlining shows. In fact, sometimes we have singers performing in between our shows!”

The interviews have been done at the artists’ homes. Jaideep says, “I always do that; I did so in my previous films too. It is cheaper, less disturbing, and most importantly, the most candid stuff comes out there.”

The film is credited not only to him, but also Dhruv Sehgal and Harshad Nalawade. “Dhruv pretty much did everything. He was the camera-person, as I don’t really like to think about it when I am interviewing. He ensured the sound was okay every time, organised the shoots. Later, he was a co-editor and contributed a lot to the flow of the film. He was central to the film. I couldn’t have made it without him. As was Harshad, who contributed immensely to form the story we wanted to tell as editor. Intellectually, the three of us made the film.”

At one point, almost prophetically, the members of the All India Bakchod collective say that they will definitely get into trouble for their work. On the roast controversy, Jaideep is very candid. “They would have expected the backlash because they do experiment with profanity a fair bit. The AIB Roast went overboard on that. I was disappointed because I like them but I felt that this show made a gimmick of abusing and vulgarity. Instead of the means, it became an end.”

While he does credit them with the fact that they made Bollywood laugh at themselves, he adds that they would have to be very naïve not to expect a backlash. “I believe in free speech and feel nothing should be banned. But everything you do also has a consequence. Be man enough to take it when it happens. Don’t go apologising to religious groups at the first signs of trouble — that was disappointing, but they are young and talented, and hopefully they will learn and become more mature,” Jaideep says.

On using the Internet to their advantage, he says, “It is our distribution network. We can reach our audience directly. This is pretty straightforward. It can change the way art or journalism is consumed in our country — it has already happened for some. If we can just find a way to monetise that space more effectively, it will change everything.”

Atul Kasbekar: The man behind the calendar girls

Atul Kasbekar, the hot-shot Kingfisher calendar photographer, on how his work takes him to the most exotic locations across the world

When ace photographer Atul Kasbekar conceptualised and shot the first Kingfisher calendar in 2003, he never imagined that it would come so far. “Not in my wildest dreams,” he says. From Mauritius, the French Riviera, the Andamans and Goa, he has taken models across the globe to exotic locales over the past 12 years.

It’s been a process in evolution. Everyone has gotten better and better and the calendar itself has become a platform for launching faces, says Atul, citing Yana Gupta, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone and Lisa Haydon as examples.

And with these expectations, every year is a new challenge, he says. “Living up to expectations is part of the job and part of the pressure. As Malcolm Gladwell says in his book,  Outliers, it takes roughly 10000 hours of practice to achieve mastery in a field,” says Atul. And in terms of technology, even the post-production has gotten way more advanced. He explains how, thanks to technology, one can go into a shot knowing what the final image can look like: “It will look nothing like the image that has been captured. For example in one shoot with Sarah Jane Dias, there were some pillars in the background. During the recce, the lighting was great but when we came back for the final shoot it was a little grey and overcast. I couldn’t cancel the shoot because we had taken government permissions, and so we had to finish the shoot that day. But if you look at that particular photo in the calendar, you will not be able to tell that it was such a bad day for photography.”

“I have always loved Turkey. It is one of those places that combines cultures. Being part Europe, part Asia, it is that melange that makes it so charming. The food is great and the people are lovely, weather is amazing. We stayed away from the normal places like Istanbul and chose to shoot in less-known, but still beautiful locations like Bodrum, Cappadocia and Pamakulle,” says Atul, about the location for this year’s shoot. “What can happen over the years is that we get enthusiasm from various tourism boards because they get mileage in terms of destination, travel and the way we showcase them. So most countries go out of their way to give us access to places which we normally wouldn’t be allowed.”

Atul is partial to places that are not very hot and humid as it is difficult in outdoor conditions for the entire crew. 

“We were in the Philippines last year, and it was sapping to be honest. Because you’re just pouring sweat all the time, and it becomes very exhausting for the crew. If you’re shooting outside the tropics, it’s quite a delight. It’s much more comfortable. We’re in a good zone, the mood is nicer. I’ve enjoyed shooting in South Africa, Mauritius and I am hoping that at some point in Spain and Greece. What happens is that the quality of light is much more slanting and so you can shoot pretty much throughout the day, unlike in the tropics where the sun is directly overhead,” he says.

Apart from a whole bunch of ad campaigns, Atul turns producer this year. Sonam Kapoor plays the lead role in a biopic on Neerja Bhanot, the purser on hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 who was killed while saving several passengers.

“Neerja was a real hero, and the youngest, at 22, to be posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra, which is the highest peacetime honour for bravery. I am very excited about the project,” he signs off.

The taste of an island nation

Discover the familiar, yet exotic, flavours of Sri Lanka while cooking with Chef Damayanthi Paul.

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In the brightly lit kitchen at Foodology, Damayanthi Paul is ready with all the ingredients needed to cook up a typical Sri Lankan lunch. And there’s a lot of coconut involved. In fact, every single dish has some form of it. “That’s Sri Lankan cooking for you,” she says.

Apparently, the cuisine shares several similarities with Kerala cuisine, using ingredients like kokum (Malabar tamarind) and pandan leaves to impart a strong, distinct flavour to the dishes. Avocado is also used extensively as it is available commonly all over the island nation. And when it comes to protein, fish is the preferred choice.

A native of Colombo who now lives in the United Kingdom with her hotelier husband, Damayanthi’s interest in cooking began when she was 15. “No one in particular inspired me; it was just my passion that I began working on,” she says with a smile.

One of Damayanthi’s first forays into the industry was when she trained the chefs at the Intercontinental Hotel, Bengaluru, for a Sri Lankan food festival. Since then, she has helped put together several other such festivals in India and in the UK. For the first time, she shared her knowledge in a cooking class, organised by Shree Periakaruppan in Chennai. The day before the session, we meet for a quick private class.

So what goes into a typical Sri Lankan lunch? We start by making a salad of gotu kola, what is called vallarai keerai in Tamil, with grated coconut in it. Then there’s achcharu, which is pickled pineapple and mango. It manages to be spicy, sour and sweet all at the same time, thanks to the salt, peppercorns, chilli powder, mustard, Maldive fish powder, vinegar and sugar added to it. “You can also make this with apples and pears, but not with papaya. The Maldive fish powder is used in a lot of dishes, even vegetarian ones,” says Damayanthi.

One cup of zeeraga samba rice is soaked in cold water, in preparation for the kaha bath. “Kaha means yellow; a pinch of turmeric powder gives it the colour. Usually, samba rice is used, but this is close enough. Even basmati rice can be used,” she says. The rice is cooked in two cups of coconut milk and spiced with cinnamon, black pepper and pandan leaf; the aroma once it’s done is divine. The generous handful of cashewnuts fried in butter (no ghee is used), added to the rice just before it went on the stove, might have had something to do with that.

We get hands on with the fish curry, chopping the vegetables and marinating them. I’m using kokum for the first time in the kitchen and Damayanthi warns me not to be heavy-handed with it. “Earlier, people used to make batches of the fish curry without coconut milk so they could store it for long periods without refrigeration. As needed, they would take the fish, add coconut milk and let it cook through.”

Once the curry is simmering away on the stove, she makes the dough for pol roti using maida, shredded coconut and coconut milk. She deftly flattens the balls of dough on a plate greased with coconut oil. “My mother used to make huge rotis like this, one for each person. I’m following her method on a smaller scale,” Damayanthi says. She makes near-perfect circles while my attempts look like the amoeba diagrams we used to draw in biology classes.

Damayanthi has already made mackerel fish cutlets, which she now fries in, what else, coconut oil. They’re too tempting to resist, so I sample one right off the stove and I’m not disappointed. She has also brought seeni sambal from her own kitchen; the coarse, spicy sauce with a hint of sweetness goes really well with the roti. This is just one out of a variety of raw and cooked sambals that are part of the cuisine, she says.

As we tuck into the hearty meal, Damayanthi says that this is standard fare at home. “I do make the occasional pasta, or cook differently when my daughter visits. She’s 25, and not really interested in this kind of food. But for me, it is the taste of home.”

1 kg seer (vanjaram) fish

2 tbsp roasted curry powder (recipe below)

1 tbsp roasted chilli powder

1 big onion

2 green chillies

1 bunch of curry leaves

2-inch pandan leaf (thazhai)

2 tbsp chopped garlic

1 piece cinnamon

1 tbsp Sri Lankan tamarind paste (kokum)

2 big tomatoes, chopped finely (optional)

1 cup thick coconut milk

4 tbsp coconut oil

Method

Mix the fish in a large bowl with the tamarind paste, roasted chilli powder, roasted curry powder, curry leaves, pandan leaves, garlic and tomatoes. Let it marinate for 15 minutes; then add a glass of water or thin coconut milk.

Heat the coconut oil in a cooking pan on a high flame.

Add chopped onions, green chillies and cinnamon, and fry till golden brown.

Add the fish and lower the flame. Don’t stir too much after adding the fish; stir it before it begins to boil. Cover and let it cook for 15 minutes.

Add the thick coconut milk and let it cook for five minutes.

Serve hot with rice.

Roasted curry powder:

Dry roast 500 gm coriander seeds, 250 gm cumin seeds, 250 gm fennel seeds, 100 gm peppercorns, 100 gm mustard seeds, 50 gm fenugreek, 50 gm raw rice, 10 gm cinnamon and 1 cup of curry leaves till brown. Cool for 15 minutes, then grind till it gets a fine texture. Store it in an airtight container.

French rotis for dinner

Written as part of a series called ‘Fork in my Luggage’, where writers recounted unusually food experiences on their travels

My friend and I land at Jaipur airport, collect our luggage and wait for a tuk tuk driver in the biting cold. Alright, the temperature is around 13 C, but to someone who has known nothing but the warmth (and scorching heat) of Chennai all through the year, it’s as good as being frozen.

The auto rickshaw, emblazoned with the words ‘Stud Muffin’ on the back and ‘Carpe Diem’ inside, mercifully has tarp on both sides to keep the cold wind out. As our driver, Waseem, takes us to our home for the next one week, we have no idea where we are headed, but we go along for the ride anyway. 

A good half hour spent on bumpy roads later, he drops us at a house that looks exactly like the one in the photos we saw online while booking the place. Heaving a sigh of relief, we drag our luggage inside and meet our host, Paulette. A 21-year-old from Toulouse in France, she’s cheerful and chatty, and although it takes us some time to get used to her accent, we get along like a house on fire.

It’s 8 p.m. by now and we wonder aloud about where we can go for dinner. Paulette hushes us, saying she’s cooking for us. And so we join her in the kitchen where a  kadai of potato-brinjal curry is simmering on the stove.

In a few minutes, she has kneaded dough and starts rolling out circular rotis faster than each one cooks on the thin, well-used  tava. We can’t help but ask, “How do you know to make all this so well?” Paulette explains, “My father loves cooking, and I learnt from him, both the curry and the rotis. This is what I cook for myself often.” Tired, hungry and glad for familiar food, we wolf down the warm rotis with the spicy curry and curd before heading to bed.  

One of the many things I am yet to master in the kitchen is the making of  chappathi dough and rolling it into something that resembles a circle. But till I do, I will think of the French girl who has already got it down to an art, and hope to be as good as she is someday.

Thaikkudam Bridge: on to a new sound

Ahead of Thaikkudam Bridge’s debut album launch, and their Chennai gig, the band reminisces about their glorious run together thus far

After completing his Class X examinations, Govind Menon joined a diploma course that he wasn’t really interested in. “I told my parents that I had finished the final exams for the course; I then left immediately for Chennai. The truth was that I had not even attempted the exams. I came to the city and joined a sound engineering course,” says the vocalist, violinist, music producer and co-founder of the immensely popular, 15-piece, band Thaikkudam Bridge.

As they get ready to perform in Chennai this Sunday,the band reminisces about the time they spent together in the city: Govind met Ashok Nelson, Rajan K.S., Vipin Lal, Hemanth and Christin Jose while he lived here for eight years. “We stayed together and we became the best of friends. That was how our band started. My best friends are my band-mates,” says Govind.

Does that include his father Peethambaran Menon? Laughing, he says, “The other band members call him Peets and bro. He’s a cool dad; just not from my perspective!” He attributes his love for music to his father, saying, “It’s in my blood. He sings and so did his father. It’s no wonder I’m in the same field! There was a time when my brother and I used to play Metallica records and my dad used to scold us saying ‘What is this nonsense you are listening to?’. Now he sings along to the same songs.”

The band also features co-founder Siddharth Menon, Mithun Raju, Vian Fernandez, Anish T.N., Ruthin Thej, Anish Krishnan, Piyush Kapoor, Krishna Bongane, Nila Madhav Mohapatra and Amith.

With nine vocalists, the band’s debut album is hard to slot into one genre. Govind explains that they are planning a concept or theme-based album, where the singing style will be different for each song but the backing will be rock music. “For example, the vocals for one song are in the Kathakali style, but the music that accompanies it is rock. But each song will be connected to the other. It’s more of an emotional album than a genre-centric one.”

Besides this, Thaikkudam Bridge has also been working on music production for a Malayalam movie,  Haram. While Govind has dabbled in music production individually, this is the first time the band has been involved. “It is great fun, and completely different from what we have done so far. The process is not something we are used to: fitting the music to suit the mood of the film as the director sees it; keeping the songs crisp and short… It’s just a matter of convincing the concerned person that the music fits,” he says. As an aside, he adds, “I was crazy about movies and wanted to get into film direction. I later realised I didn’t know anything about it. That’s when I decided I should do music production.”

The launch of the album, later this year, means that their set list for shows will change. “We usually do a lot of covers and few originals; even for this show in Chennai, we will have more originals than before. From March, we will have a completely new playlist,” says Govind.

He adds that Chennai is their most favourite place to perform: “The crowd here is so wonderful and it always makes me nostalgic. They just want the music — they don’t care if it’s in Tamil or Malayalam. Performances here are better than at Bangalore or Mumbai.”

Of family, food and festive times

Delve into various Christmas food traditions and memories

Christmas mornings were spent in paati’s house, where my cousins and I would wake up to the delicious smells wafting from her kitchen. Steaming idlis, crispy medhu vadais and piping hot chicken or mutton curry would wait on the table as she hovered over a huge kadai, stirring up a batch of rava kesari. After a quick prayer, during which we would keep opening our eyes to stare longingly at the food, we would tuck into the South Indian feast.

That was the beginning to a day well spent filling up on delicious sweets and crunchy savouries. Lunch was also a hearty affair, usually with biryani, but sometimes we would also have duck, turkey or quail. By dinner, we were usually too full for anything else.

A lot has changed over the years, but many families in various communities, like mine, continue to have Christmas food traditions that have remained constant.

Anglo Indian households are known for their vivacious celebrations and Merlin Smith Thomas recalls the frenzied preparations that would take place leading up to Christmas. “As children, my 11 siblings and I would only be allowed to stir the cake batter and help make the kalkal (a fried pastry made with flour, eggs and coconut milk). The doldol or black halwa, made of coconut and rice flour, was my mum’s bastion,” says the 69-year-old, who has authored a cookbook of Anglo-Indian dishes set to release later this month.

Breakfast was, and still remains, continental, with sausages and bacon; coconut rice was served with a meat stew or curry for lunch. “Biryani was never made in Anglo Indian houses; it was only around the 1960s that it started becoming popular,” says Merlin.

Dinner would be roast duck or turkey. “There were many side dishes to accompany it. One of our favourites was the stuffing, made of the giblets or chicken/beef mince with bread. Dessert would be a blancmange pudding set in a tub of water as we had no refrigerator back then,” she says.

While the preparations might not be so elaborate now, Merlin will still be making some of the traditional dishes for her three young granddaughters this year. On how celebrations have become more inclusive of kids, she says, “At their age, we would be served dinner first and sent out of the room so the adults could talk freely. We were allowed back in for music and dancing accompanied by cake and wine.”

On chilly Christmas Eves in Coorg, Smitha Kuttayya Boppanda remembers being bundled off to midnight mass and the delicious meals that followed through the day. The Kodava food expert says, “Everyone knows and loves our cuisine, but for those from the region, it’s the season to indulge in wines. Being a farming community, we don’t like to waste anything. So any excess fruit became wine. This year, I made passion fruit, pineapple, betel leaf (paan), ginger and banana wines at home. One of my friends back in Coorg says that her mother has made coffee berry wine out of fresh coffee berries. It sounds divine!”

While grape wine is what is common, in Coorg, it is the other way around. “We don’t grow grapes, and so it is more expensive for a household to make grape wine and so that is a delicacy for us,” says Smitha.

Being away from Kerala has not changed anything food-wise for Sally Mathew, who runs a catering business, with her partner Beena Oommen. “Christmas breakfast is always lace-like palappam with stew. Lunch includes at least one type of cutlet — either fish or beef. Then there is fried rice or neichoru with side dishes like kozhi varattiyathu, or some type of gravy. There are vegetarian dishes too, but for the festival, we all love to have different types of meat,” she says.  For dessert, cakes or puddings are the norm. Sally also says that biryani was never on the menu in Malayali households. “With everyone having such busy lives, it is difficult to prepare some of the traditional dishes, which are labour intensive and that’s  why many settle for ordering, especially if there is a big gathering,” she says.

As author Caroline Kennedy puts it, “Christmas can feel like a lot of work… But when you look back on all the Christmases in your life, you’ll find you’ve created family traditions and lasting memories.” And it looks like that’s exactly what a lot of families have been doing over the years.

Here’s to a merry Christmas, everyone!

More power to the pencil

Priya’s Shakti, an augmented reality-based comic created by Ram Devineni and Dan Goldman, focuses on crimes against women

“As a young girl, Priya had been curious about the universe… She worked tirelessly towards her dream of being a teacher.” She is the teenage protagonist of  Priya’s Shakti, an augmented reality-based comic that has been going viral online. Created by Ram Devineni and Dan Goldman, the comic is premiering at the Mumbai Film and Comics Convention later this week. The storyline and artwork have been inspired by ancient mythological tales, and tell the story of Priya — a mortal woman and gang-rape survivor — and the Goddess Parvati as they fight against gender-based sexual violence in India and around the world, supporting the movement against patriarchy, misogyny and indifference.

Originally from a town near Vijayawada, Ram made annual visits back to India and knew to some extent the state of affairs in the country. He was in India two years ago when the infamous Delhi rape happened. “It really shook me. I was part of some of the marches and candlelight vigils and I could feel that the people were demanding change.” The documentary filmmaker wanted to do something different to create awareness and urge people to stand up for women.

Ram spoke to several rape survivors, and found that each of their stories had a common theme — that of helplessness. “I realised how difficult it is for them to get justice and the stigma they face from even family. Often, they do not report crimes out of fear for their lives, or to avoid the backlash they may face. The burden of shame is placed on the victim and not on the perpetrators.  Priya’s Shakti highlights the threat of sexual harassment and violence that women face on a daily basis unless deeply-rooted patriarchal norms are challenged. Priya is a new hero for a modern India.”

Dan Goldman, the digital illustrator, says that a lot of research went into the look of the characters. “I studied several depictions of deities in various styles in India, Indonesia and Thailand and fused them into artwork. Since the comic incorporates augmented reality, which offers more content in the form of videos, articles and the real life stories of rape survivors, this art really pops out,” he says. This extra content can be accessed by using the app Blippar.

The comic book is available free worldwide in every digital format and downloadable on the project’s website and at ComiXology, Apple’s iBooks, Amazon, and BitTorrent. The printed comics will be available at the comic book convention in Hindi and English, but eventually will be translated into other languages.

“This is only the first instalment of the series. We will be bringing more stories on Priya and her adventures with Goddess Parvati in the future,” says Ram.

The world on wheels

Catch Tushar Agarwal and Sanjay Madan’s epic road trip on TLC’s new show

After three years of travelling together and creating seven records between them, Tushar Agarwal and Sanjay Madan decided to take the most epic road trip of all time: six continents, 50 countries and over 90,000 kilometres. “We planned it for more than a year and we knew that the experience would stay with us forever. We wanted to document and share it since it is, to say the least, a unique concept,” says Tushar.

That’s how The Great Indian World Trip, TLC’s latest travel show, came about. Travelling with just one cameraman, the two travel junkies set off in their Toyota Fortuner from India Gate on September 22, 2013. From there they went to Manipur and crossed over into Myanmar. This started off the Asia trip that included Thailand and Singapore; they then went on to Australia where they set a Guinness World Record for the longest trip taken by car (17,000 kilometres), Africa, South America, North America and Europe. They ended the trip on November 11, 2014 in Turkey. They did not use a GPS, but only road maps and a compass to guide them.

Sanjay says, “The car was shipped to each continent, and during that break, we would come back home and spend time with family and gather funds for the next leg of the journey.” Tushar and Sanjay jointly founded Adventures Overland, a company that specialises in driving experiences. They share the same passion and decided to capitalise on it.

The trip, of course, had some memorable experiences, like an old Argentinean couple who spent a few hours driving around with them till they settled in a good hotel and then invited them home for dinner. Another memory that stuck with them was the fact that they saw the Northern Lights for four days straight while in Alaska. Car breakdowns in dangerous places, wonderful views in Serengeti National Park and crossing borders, the two of them have a host of stories to share.

Sanjay, who’s married with two children, says that the one thing he discovered on the journey is that people are all the same: “They look different and everyone’s character is stereotyped, but everyone loves helping others.” Tushar agrees, saying, “The idea was to explore the world and meet and talk to more people. Not using the GPS was a masterstroke: the best experiences are those that are unplanned.”