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[vincent]

Kolkata's street movieman races towards Oscar glory

Kolkata, Jan 29: He sits with his hand-cranked 1897 projector in a one-room shack in a grimy cluster, hearing the word Oscar for the first time. But in far away Hollywood, Mohammed Salim's life in the mean streets of Kolkata is the subject of intense scrutiny as the Academy Awards draw close.

"Salim Baba", a documentary by American filmmaker Tim Sternberg on Salim's life as a movieman, is in the last four of the Academy Awards Documentary Short category this year.

"Where is this place called Oscar? Will a win fetch me some money so that I can marry off my daughter?" asked Salim, who every evening ventures out of his hovel with the century-old contraption atop a cart to peddle movie magic. He has been entertaining people this way for nearly 42 long years - for just one rupee.

The 52-year-old man and a father of six has made a living screening discarded film scraps for children in neighbourhoods surrounding his home in north Kolkata's Marquis Square using a hand-cranked Japan-made projector that he inherited from his father.

Resisting all the lucrative offers to part with his projector, Salim runs his show every evening with his sons, regaling children with clips from all kind of films.

"I purchase the footage - all film trailers - from the film scrap markets in Chandni Chowk, Canning Street and Murgihata," he said.

In early 2006, independent American filmmaker Sternberg and cameraman Francisco Bello approached him for the film, which is up for an award along with "Freeheld", "La Corona" and "Sari's Mother".

When the significance of the Oscar was explained, Salim's face lit up: "You say it is like Filmfare Award in India? Then I feel proud and happy."

The next moment, he asked: "Will I get anything so that I can marry off my second daughter?"

Kolkata filmmaker Raja Dey, who co-produced "Salim Baba", told IANS: "I feel proud to be part of the film... I think there should be some effort to create a fund for him. The makers must do something if the film wins."

Dey said Salim had got an offer from the makers of "Salim Baba" for a full-length film.

Salim said: "They had sent me some papers to sign. But after consulting a lawyer I did not sign it. I felt that it would forfeit my right to talk to other media or allow others to shoot. A filmmaker from London also has expressed his desire to shoot my life. I can only take a decision once I know the details."

In December 2006, Al Jazeera English also shot with Salim for a day for their slot on movies.

But while Salim's life in the fetid Kolkata lanes is the toast of red carpet glory, the man's life perhaps would remain unchanged.

What keeps Salim going is the fact that in this crowded Indian metropolis of brand new cineplexes, umpteen movie theatres, DVD parlours and 24-hour access to cable TV channels, people still gather round his anachronistic movie cart for a trip down an era of reel romanticism.

As Salim wheels a rectangular cart with the 106-year-old Japanese projector, the young and old crowd around. Disregarding the blurred images, they are only too happy to shell out one rupee for a five-minute Bollywood trailer packed with song, dance and action.

"I am supporting my family of wife and six children with this. From 25 paise per viewer in the late 1970s to one rupee now, the show is going on and people are lapping it up every day," Salim boasted.

But there is uncertainty. He doesn't know how long he can continue.

"I don't keep well these days. I am worried about the marriage of my second daughter."

Maybe, the red carpet will be his walkway out of his troubles.

IANS
 
 

[RicePlateReddy]

He can marry off all six children and their grandchildren if he gets into porn.

[vincent]

Yes, no doubt. And there are other ways of making money at any cost as this article proves:

Bird flu cull hit by 'corruption'

By Subir Bhaumik

BBC News, Calcutta


Several culling teams have stopped working in districts of West Bengal hit by bird flu, complaining of corruption.
They say that they are being put under pressure by local politicians to exaggerate the number of birds killed so that more compensation is paid.
Some of the extra money is pocketed by local politicians, they say.
Nearly 200 culling team members have withdrawn from working in Rampurhat and Baroncha in protest against "pressure for false certificates".
'Too tired'
"If we kill five birds, we are asked to certify the killing of 50 birds so that the villagers get more compensation, part of which is pocketed by the village politicians," alleged Pintu Ghosh, member of a culling team at Rampurhat.
The decision by some culling team members in Rampurhat and Baroncha in Murshidbad district is significant, because these are areas worst hit by bird flu, where culling targets have been constantly upped as the epidemic spreads.
The officials all work for West Bengal's health and animal husbandry departments.
In the district of Nadia, other culling teams have stopped work because they say they are "too tired".
"We are too few and our task is huge. We have been working relentlessly for the last week," said Chandan Das, a culling team member.
Desperate district administrators have threatened to arrest those members of culling teams who pull out of work.
On Monday, officials said that the epidemic has spread to 13 of West Bengal's 19 districts.
An outbreak has even been reported from Budge Budge, a suburb of the capital, Calcutta, officials say, even though 1.7 million birds have so far been culled.
Police checkpoints have been set up all around the city to prevent any possible smuggling of poultry, Calcutta's police commissioner Gautam Chakrabarty said.
"If this spreads to Calcutta, there will be panic and chaos," animal disease expert Barun Roy said.
The municipal authorities in Calcutta are not prepared for such a situation, he said.
'Alarming'
West Bengal's Health Minister SK Mishra said that the situation was "alarming" and that a total of 2.5 million birds would need to be disposed of.
In some areas just hit by bird flu, like Debra in West Midnapore district, villagers are actively resisting the culling of their backyard poultry, complaining of financial losses.
Experts say that this could be contributing towards the spread of the disease.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu is regarded as highly pathogenic and can cause disease and death in humans.
Health experts have warned that the outbreak could get out of control.
The only saving grace so far for the authorities is that no cases of human infection have yet been reported.
Tens of thousands of rural families, for whom poultry is the only major source of income, have been ruined.