Picked for Oscars but no money to promote

TALK about Indian films, and the first thing that comes to mind is Bollywood. Money, fame, glamour, it’s got everything to offer. But beyond the razzle and dazzle of the spotlight there’s another industry which is fighting a lonely battle for survival. These are the small scale, low- budget regional films, often made by independent filmmakers.

Money might breed money but it can’t always guarantee success. Thus, despite a lack of financial muscle, there are times when regional films triumph over Hindi movies.

Director Salim Ahmed has produced the Movie

Malayalam movie Adaminte Makan Abu is one such example. Produced and directed by Salim Ahmed, the film won four national awards — best film, actor, photography and background music — and has been chosen as India’s official entry to the Oscars in the foreign language category.

But the Oscar selection is proving to be a bigger headache for the debutant director than that he had faced making the film, which cost him nearly ` 1 crore. Ahmed, a small time videographer at a remote village in Kannur district of Kerala, is now finding it difficult to arrange funds for promoting his film in the US for the Oscar jury. He needs at least ` 2 crore and is running from pillar to post but with little to show for his efforts.

His effort to raise funds somewhat mirrors that of the central character in his film in which an old man, who sells attar ( perfume), dreams of making enough money to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Despite all his efforts, he fails to save the money needed for the trip.

“ Before the Oscar nomination, we will have to conduct a lot of promotional events such as screening the film in the US to mobilise support. A minimum of six screenings have to be arranged for the jury members,” Ahmed said.

“ I cannot borrow money because even if the film gets a nomination, it does not bring home any cash.” The print has already landed in the US and Ahmed is expected to be there by the middle of this month. Ahmed had turned to all sections for help, but faced rejection from every quarter. The Film Fed- eration of India has also appealed to the Union information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni for financial help, but she is yet to respond.

Back home, the Malayalam film industry, controlled by superstars Mammootty and Mohanlal, has even refused to acknowledge the film’s selection for the Oscars, while the state cultural affairs ministry too is reluctant to help.

The team behind the award winning film is now pinning it hopes on the efforts of Salim Kumar, who played the lead role. He has turned to Bollywood star Aamir Khan for help.

“ I hope I can convince him about the problems low- budget filmmakers face in promoting movies,” Kumar said.

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A Pill A Day Will Keep The Gray Away

The likes of George Clooney, Phillip Schofield and Helen Mirren make going grey look distinguished, if not downright glamorous.

George Clooney can hide those white hairs of his

But whether it’s a sprinkling of salt- and- pepper in your 30s, or a full head of platinum in your 40s or 50s, most of us are not quite ready to embrace the ‘ silver fox’ look too early in life.

Penelope Cruz

Now scientists suggest that holding back the process could soon be as easy as popping a vitamin pill. They are working on a medication which, when taken daily, could let you hold on to your own naturally coloured locks as long as possible.

The breakthrough comes after more than a decade of research at the laboratories of cosmetics firm L’Oreal. The global market for hair colouring is worth an estimated £ 8billion and the company — the world’s largest in cosmetics and hair care — hopes to become the first to come up with the lucrative anti- grey formula. Based on a secret fruit extract, the pill would be inexpensive and designed to be used in the same way as a daily dietary supplement.

Bruno Bernard, head of hair biology at L’Oreal, said: “ Ideally you would take it for your whole life, but realistically we’d encourage people to start using it before their hair goes grey because we don’t think it can reverse the process once it has started.

“ We have a watertight proof of concept, and we think it will have a market among men as well as women.” If the formula, which is being developed in secret, is proven to be effective, it could earn the company billions.

Between 2008 and last year, there was a 50 per cent increase in the number of men visiting hair salons to dye their hair, a study commissioned by L’Oreal revealed. In Britain, sales of home hair colouring kits have risen by a third in the past three years.

According to market research firm Mintel, more than two- thirds of women colour their hair.

Grey hairs usually begin to appear after the age of 30, when human hair cells begin to succumb to a process called oxidative stress, which makes them more susceptible to toxins. The pill would work by offering protection against this process.

Hair pigment cells die with age due to the lack of a protective enzyme called tyrosinase- related protein 2 ( TRP- 2), the researchers explained. Rather than creating a synthetic drug to mimic TRP- 2, the scientists instead screened thousands of naturally occurring compounds, and eventually found one in a fruit — which they have not named.

Safety trials are under way, but the product’s mechanism will not be unveiled until the next international investigative dermatology meeting in 18 months.

Since going grey can take decades, it could be many years before it is clear how effective the product is. Des Tobin, professor of cell biology at the University of Bradford’s Centre for Skin Science, said: “ With people living longer and working longer, they are in the grey zone for longer”.

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