Latest news with #Padam
Scroll.in
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
In ‘Pyre', an elderly couple face loneliness, the prospect of death – and their love for each other
If things had gone according to plan, Pyre would have starred Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah as an elderly couple in a remote village in the Uttarakhand mountains. But things didn't go according to plan – until they did. It was the year 2020. Naseeruddin Shah got Covid, which made it difficult for him to shoot in higher altitudes. So Pyre 's writer-director Vinod Kapri decided to cast non-professional performers who were from Uttarakhand itself. He found the people he needed. Pyre went into production in 2022. It has been travelling to several festivals. Everywhere the movie is shown, audiences fall hard for the very old and very charming Padam Singh and Heera Devi. Pyre is throbbing romance at its core, Kapri told Scroll. Kapri's third fiction feature after Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho (2015) and Pihu (2018) revolves around the goat herders Padam and Tulsi. They have been married for over 60 years. Their only son migrated years ago and hasn't been back since. Padam and Tulsi are among the last occupants of one of Uttarakhand's ghost hamlets – villages that have been hollowed out by migration. When Tulsi falls ill, Padam has to summon his faraway neighbours by blowing on a trumpet he keeps specifically for this purpose. The trek to the hospital in the plains takes hours. The Hindi-Kumaoni film movingly explores the couple's isolation, poor health and the prospect of death. What is the point of living, they keep asking each other. Although Padam and Tulsi quarrel constantly and are fond of gallows humour, their mutual adoration is unmistakeable. 'The film is connecting with diverse audiences because of the couple's loneliness, their bonding, the love and even the hate that is between them,' Kapri noted. 'The story has a universal appeal.' Kapri based Pyre on the hardships faced by the people of Kumaon, to which he belongs. The story is directly inspired by an elderly couple he met during a trek in Uttarakhand. 'I saw them grazing some 30-40 goats – that visual fascinated me,' Kapri recalled. When he asked them how they were faring, they told him that their children had gone away. Whenever the woman fell ill, they had trouble arranging for medical help. The old man told Kapri that each time he received help, he gave away a goat. What happens when you run out of goats, Kapri asked. Came the reply: we will be gone before that happens. 'That thing remained with me, and I thought I should tell their story,' Kapri said. He started writing a script for a fiction film. He wanted to cast the same couple to ensure authenticity, and he even shot a few scenes with them, but it didn't work out. After the idea of working with Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah fell through, and Kapri couldn't find the replacements he wanted, the project was put on ice. Kapri directed the documentary 1232 KMs (2021), in which he followed a group of labourers cycling all the way from Ghaziabad to their homes in Bihar during the Covid lockdown. Previously a television journalist, Kapri's first documentary was the National Film Award-winning Can't Take This Shit Anymore (2014), about sanitation in villages. Sometime in 2022, Kapri met an uncle Padam Singh at a family gathering. The former Army havildar, who was in high spirits, challenged Kapri to try him out as an actor. Kapri asked his uncle to act out a scene – and it worked. 'I sent the video recording to my friends who are theatre and film professionals and they asked, who is this actor,' Kapri said. But Kapri also needed someone to play Tulsi. He returned to the villages in Kumaon. He found a woman who looked the part. Even as he was talking to her, Heera Devi walked by, carrying a pile of wood on her head. When she was told that the film crew was looking for an actor, she said, 'Haa, main hoon na heroine,' Kapri recalled. I can be your heroine. 'I loved that confidence,' Kapri added. 'We asked her to enact a scene, and we realised that we had found our Tulsi.' Kapri's brief to Padam Singh and Heera Devi, who had never faced a camera before, was that they were performing a dramatised version of their lives. In the film, Padam and Tulsi have a sacred relationship with their surroundings and the mountains – which was also the case with the actors. 'People who are especially from the characters' generation consider themselves the children of the mountains,' Kapri said. This reverence partly explains why Padam and Tulsi despite their tribulations cannot bring themselves to move out of their village . The shoot was a challenge on several fronts. Getting untrained actors to play a married couple wasn't easy. Heera Devi, a widow, who was concerned about what her neighbours might think. She was initially uncomfortable playing another man's wife, even though it was for a film. Kapri got Heera Devi's son to persuade her to continue playing the part. The other challenge was logistical. Pyre has been filmed entirely on location in and around Kapri's own village in Kumaon. Cinematographer Manas Bhattacharyya brings out the area's natural beauty as well as the forbidding expanse. The shoot, which took place in the monsoon in 2022, was strenuous. 'Rather than choosing a hotel that was many kilometres away, we decided to stay in my village,' Kapri said. Several people crammed into various houses, living like an extended family. Equipment had to be lugged around for hours. 'There were no toilets, so we built toilets for our crew and handed them to the village later,' the 53-year-old filmmaker said. One of the themes in Pyre is migration. The film's secondary characters prepare to leave the village – and Padam and Tulsi – for work. However, Pyre isn't about the poor job opportunities or underdevelopment in Uttarakhand's hilly regions, Kapri said. 'I didn't want to make a preachy film or spell out the situation,' he said. 'For me, the film is a beautiful love story, like the story about Franz Kafka, the young girl and the doll, or Gabriel Garcia Marquez's No One Writes to the Colonel. I wanted to stick to the story of a couple who love each other and hate each other and fight a lot.' The poignant relationship impressed German editor Patricia Rommel, who edited Pyre, Gulzar, who contributed lyrics for a song for free, and Canadian composer Mychael Danna (Life of Pi, Where the Crawdads Sing). Danna was on a sabbatical when Kapri approached him, but was so moved by the film that he agreed to compose the background score for a pittance, Kapri said. Pyre won audience choice awards at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia in 2024 and the Asian Summer Film Festival in Spain earlier this month. Kapri has a few more international showings, including the London Indian Film Festival and the Indian Film Festival Melbourne, before he explores a distribution deal in India. 'Independent films with non-actors are almost impossible to make, but the response has been good,' Kapri said about the self-financed movie. Padam Singh and Heera Devi attended the screenings in Tallinn. They had never been on a plane, let alone travelled abroad before. They didn't even have passports. The characters in Pyre are unable to leave, but the actors who play them have gone places.
Irish Daily Mirror
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Kylie Minogue cancels European tour dates after being struck down by illness
Kylie Minogue has been forced to cancel four upcoming European tour dates due to a viral infection that has left her with laryngitis. The 56 year-old pop star, who recently completed the UK leg of her Tension Tour, shared the disappointing news with her fans, explaining that she is currently on voice rest. She expressed her sadness at the cancellation, stating: "Hi Lovers, as some of you may know, a week ago we finished the UK leg of the Tension Tour. I made it over the finish line (yay) but unfortunately have succumbed to a viral infection (Hello laryngitis). "I've tried my best to recover fast to start our next run on Monday but I'm afraid it will take me some days to be well enough to get back on stage and perform the best for you." The affected shows include those in Berlin, Lodz, Kaunas, and Tallinn, with Kylie assuring fans that she is working to reschedule the dates and advising them to hold onto their tickets. The Padam hitmaker concluded: "Thank you for understanding - you know I love you all. And I LOVE THIS SHOW! And I'll miss you next week, and I can't wait to see you all. Love Kylie xx". Kylie Minogue is set to return to the stage on June 23 at Finland's Metro Arena. The singer was recently honoured with an award at London's O2 Arena for becoming the first female artist to headline 21 shows at the venue, reports the Mirror. She joins the 21 Club, which recognises acts that have performed at the arena 21 times or more, alongside notable artists such as Michael Bublé and Take That. Kylie's latest tour, supporting her sixteenth studio album, included four sold-out performances at the O2 Arena, bringing her total to 24 shows. A source present at the award presentation reported that Kylie was visibly emotional, struggling to hold back tears as she addressed the audience. The source stated: "Kylie was really emotional and fought back the tears as she addressed the crowd. It was clear the achievement meant a lot to her." Kylie proudly displayed her award to the crowd, and upon announcing that it was her 24th show at the arena, she became tearful. The audience showed their support, creating a heartfelt moment as Kylie reflected on her career. The source added: "Everyone in the arena supported her and had her back. It was clear she appreciated the love and support of her fans, as she always has."
Daily Mirror
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Kylie Minogue cancels string of concerts over 'illness' as star issues statement
Kylie Minogue has cancelled four of her upcoming shows as she admitted she had "no choice". The pop star, 56, has just finished the UK leg of her tour and was due to head to Europe. She shared her upset of falling ill while in the UK as she revealed she has been hit with laryngitis. Kylie told her fans that she is now on voice rest as she gave them the sad update. The Padam hitmaker said: "Hi Lovers, as some of you may know, a week ago we finished the UK leg of the Tension Tour. I made it over the finish line (yay) but unfortunately have succumbed to a viral infection (Hello laryngitis) 'I've tried my best to recover fast to start our next run on Monday but I'm afraid it will take me some days to be well enough to get back on stage and perform the best for you.' She added: 'I'm so, SO sorry! I have no choice but to postpone the shows in Berlin, Lodz, Kaunas and Tallinn as scheduled. Please keep hold of your tickets, we're doing our very best to reschedule the dates and will update you very soon on that. 'Thank you for understanding - you know I love you all. And I LOVE THIS SHOW! And I'll miss you next week, and I can't wait to see you all. Love Kylie xx' Kylie kicked off her sold-out UK leg of her Tension Tour in March. She was due to perform the Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany, on Monday (June 16), before moving on to Poland, Lithuania and Estonia. The Aussie star is hoping to back on the stage for June 23 at Finland's Metro Arena.
The Irish Sun
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Inside Kylie Minogue's epic Tension Tour as she kicks off sold out UK shows in skintight blue latex
KYLIE MINOGUE is once again on top of the world – even if she can't quite believe it. The pop icon this week kicked off the first of four huge nights at London's 20,000 capacity O2 Arena, and admitted to Bizarre the tour almost didn't happen. 2 Kylie dazzles in cobalt-coloured costume Credit: Alamy 2 Kylie backstage with Bizarre's Jack Credit: Supplied Speaking backstage after her opening night, Kylie said: 'It's been a lot of work and we almost didn't get there, but it's great.' She's right. It's been just over two years since she released Padam Padam — a track which has revived her career to levels reminiscent of 2001 megahit Can't Get You Out Of My Head. Not that she was struggling, because all her new studio albums since 2010's Aphrodite have hit No1 or No2 in the UK charts. But Padam and its accompanying Tension album allowed READ MORE ON KYLIE MINOGUE 'Mystical time' Kicking things off in style at the O2, the On A Night Like This singer descended from the heavens, head to toe in blue latex, to her latest single, aptly titled Lights Camera Action. From then on, it was a non-stop journey though hit after hit, with not a single rest. It's hard to forget just how many top tracks Kylie has had — with 35 UK Top Ten singles and seven No1s to her name. And, as she turns 57 today, she has no plans to slow down. Kylie said of performing: 'My love for doing this only grows and grows. Most read in Bizarre 'Thank you for understanding and being there for me on my journey. For me, it began in a mystical time known as the Eighties.' Kylie Minogue opens up about life, love and staying grounded as she releases Tension II She is in the middle of a run of 14 UK arena shows, but agreed to meet Bizarre's Jack backstage following one of her four O2 concerts. When she emerges smiling from her dressing room, she is proudly sporting her Tension Tour merch. It's a world away from the latex look she wore to launch her two-hour set. 'Did it look OK? It was the first time I wore that one,' she quickly asks. 'Worth the wait' It goes without saying that she looks amazing, although I remark on how it must be a seriously hot outfit to wear in a packed arena. But is Kylie ever tempted to watch her performances back online? She replied: 'I don't watch it on YouTube, but I do see it on socials and that way, sometimes with a phone, the angle is weird or the colours are off, but it gives you another perspective.' When I flag to her that currently, every one of her UK shows has received five-star reviews, she beams in amazement — clearly pinching herself that she is once again in her prime. She said: 'On 'This time tomorrow, half of the O2 shows will be done.' Reflecting on Monday evening's opener, she said: 'Tonight was amazing, it was huge. 'Sometimes, that can play with my ears if it's so loud, but it was amazing.' Speaking on stage, Kylie told exhilarated fans: 'You know I try to prepare myself, but I never can. This is insane. 'Thank you so much to each and every one of you for coming out tonight.' The star's run of shows at The O2 have made her the first female artist to join the venue's 21 Club, which honours acts who have played the arena 21 times or more. Only a handful have ever achieved the feat. The late pop legend Prince became the very first to celebrate the honour when he played a residency there in 2007. Others featured in a backstage hall of fame — which Kylie will be added to once her London shows end next month — include Take That and It may be seven years since her last arena tour, but it was certainly worth the wait. BIRTHDAY BASH FOR BUBBLY STAR THE Word Is Out – Kylie turns 57 today and plans to celebrate her big day in style. We can reveal the Spinning Around singer will host a VIP bash in West London this evening. It will be a proper, old-fashioned knees-up, with bottles of her own brand of wine on ice. But it won't be no work and all play for the Aussie star, as she has invited some of the biggest names in the booze business to schmooze them with her fancy fizz. This summer, Kylie Minogue Wines celebrates its fifth anniversary, with the star releasing a limited edition floral bottle to mark the occasion. Since she launched her vinos – which include a Prosecco and alcohol-free options – the star has sold more than 20million bottles. And we have to admit that a fair few of those were snapped up by us on Bizarre. Earlier this year, we revealed Kylie had agreed to roll out her plonk across swanky members club chain Soho House. And after tonight's hobnobbing, we've no doubt she will be raising a glass to a few more deals . . .
Tahawul Tech
14-03-2025
- Health
- Tahawul Tech
Padam Kafle Archives
The next frontier in healthcare IT, according to Padam, is Web3. By decentralising patient data through blockchain technologies, Web3 offers both security and autonomy for individuals.
