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Friday 21 Lifestyle | Movies Friday, August 28, 2020 Bollywood star Aamir Khan under fire over China, Turkey links uslim Bollywood star Aamir Khan has long been a hate in 2014, the BJP government has enacted a number of policies figure for India’s Hindu far-right, but now they have a that have raised fears of marginalisation among India 200-mil- Mnew line of attack-his massive popularity in China. lion-strong Muslim minority. Khan, 55, is a brand ambassador for Chinese smartphone maker Bollywood has a long tradition of Muslim movie stars and the Vivo, and is also major draw on the mainland with films such as so-called three Khans-Aamir, Salman and Shah Rukh-have “Dangal” (2016). He even has 1.16 million followers on China’s dominated box offices for the last three decades. But Aamir Twitter-like platform Weibo. But this week the hardline Khan stands out because of his outspokenness-although he has Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Hindu group put the actor also been photographed meeting Modi. He is one of Bollywood’s on the cover of its magazine, calling him “The Dragon’s favorite most bankable leading men and has appeared in dozens of Khan”, a reference to China. Also criticizing Khan’s ties with films-often playing Hindu or Sikh heroes. He has an enormous Turkey-which has slammed India over Kashmir-the article said fan club, which includes millions of Hindus. Khan was the target he was “forging friendships with those that are considered ene- of a vicious online campaign in 2015 and forced out of several mies of India”. advertisement campaigns after he said his wife feared for the “Aamir seems to be the favorite of the Chinese Communist safety of their children in India. Party system and the fact his movies are doing so well is an indi- At the time India was reeling under a climate of insecurity fol- cation that he is being promoted by Chinese state,” the editor of lowing the lynching of a Muslim man for allegedly eating beef, the weekly Hitesh Shankar told a news website. Prime Minister which many Hindus believe is sacrilegious. Khan attracted further Narendra Modi’s government has fanned growing hostility to ire when he met Emine Erdogan, the wife of President Recep China following a deadly clash on their disputed Himalayan bor- Tayyip Erdogan, during a recent film shoot in Turkey. Erdogan der in June. The militaristic RSS is the ideological parent of has backed Pakistan over Kashmir, a territory that both India and Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the prime minister-a Pakistan claim as its own but rule in parts. China is in control of In this file photo Indian Bollywood actor Aamir Khan looks on devout Hindu-is a lifelong member. Since Modi came to power some parts of the mountainous Ladakh region. —AFP during the launch of a book about weight loss in Mumbai. —AFP Keanu Reeves brings sunny ‘Bill Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ seen as savior for cinemas & Ted’ sequel to ‘darker’ world hristopher Nolan’s new film “Tenet” went on general release on Wednesday, with hopes it will entice audi- eaturing a young Keanu Reeves, a madcap time-travelling high again thanks to the “John Wick” films, and a viral internet Cences back to the cinema after months of closure due plot and a supply of the most bodacious catchphrases, campaign dubbing him the nicest guy in Hollywood. He has also to the coronavirus outbreak. “Tenet”, a clever blockbuster F1989’s “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” has become a been key to getting the latest “Bill & Ted” off the ground. Math- that slips between espionage and science fiction, is being cult comedy classic. Three decades on, the hit that launched eson and co-creator Ed Solomon (“Men in Black”) began writ- billed as the film of the summer that operators hope will re- Reeves’ career is back for a third movie-and its air-headed, ing the latest film more than a decade ago, after the star boot the beleaguered industry. A smattering of film buffs good-natured heroes’ message to “be excellent to each other” is confirmed his willingness to return in a press interview. turned out for an early showing in London’s Leicester Square, needed now more than ever, its creators told AFP. “It’s certainly Speaking at a press conference held online due to the pan- including retired animator Romano Modiano. “I went to see fortuitous,” co-writer Chris Matheson said ahead of Friday’s re- demic that has killed 180,000 Americans and shut down Holly- ‘Pinocchio’ a couple of days ago, I think I was the only one in wood, Reeves told journalists that Bill and Ted’s sunny spirit has the cinema. I was glad to have a seat but it was depressing “more impact just because of the situation that we find our- not to have anyone around,” he told AFP. “I am worried. I love selves in.” Reeves even resisted attempts to make the duo’s be- the big screen, why should it die?” havior darker. “We’d write scenes where Bill and Ted were Tessa Street, general manager dishonest, were trying to trick somebody,” recalled Matheson. of the Odeon Luxe cinema in “And he would say, ‘No, they wouldn’t do that.’ “And he ended Leicester Square, said 61 people up being right-these guys just don’t do that. And that’s mean- had booked for the first screen- ingful. That’s Keanu.” ing, and ticket sales looked promising across the country in Midlife crisis on steroids the coming days. “We’re always In the film, things haven’t turned out exactly as planned for excited for a Christopher Nolan the pair of wannabe rock stars from San Dimas, California. Now film, because they’re fantastic,” married with kids, their hopeless band Wyld Stallyns has failed she told AFP, describing it as “the to write the prophesied rock anthem that will unite the world. perfect film” to bring back audi- And the clock is ticking-providing the film’s midlife-crisis-on- ences, as cinemas gradually re- steroids plotline. Reeves and returning co-star Alex Winter-now open. “It’s really fantastic to a renowned documentary-maker-are joined by newcomers bring a film to the big screen that Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine, who play their just really demonstrates what cinema is all about. It’s a film daughters, as well as a few old favorites. that needs to be seen on the big screen.” Hollywood megastar The film itself endured a long and difficult path to the screen, Tom Cruise, who is filming near London, tweeted a video of reportedly hindered by studio bosses nervous about its aging his trip to the cinema on Tuesday to see the film, adding the Keanu Reeves stars in a Hollywood obsessed with youth-focused franchise caption: “Big Movie. Big Screen. Loved it”. “reboots.” But for its creators, “Bill & Ted” could not exist with- After several postponements, the film, which ran to a $200 lease of “Bill & Ted Face the Music.” “We didn’t have any sense out Reeves and Winter-both 55 — who met in the original film’s million (169 million euros) budget, is the first of its kind to when we started back up, that their ingenuousness about the audition and remain close friends, regularly spending Thanks- dare a release during the pandemic. In contrast, Disney world was somehow going to be more resonant,” he told AFP. giving and other holidays together. “Alex and Keanu’s friendship canned its plan for a big-screen release of “Mulan”, prefer- “But as things got darker and darker in the world-starting, permeates the entire film series,” said Solomon. “We didn’t want ring instead to run it on digital platforms. The latest James let’s see, November 2016 perhaps-there was a sense of like, to do a version where they had become successful and now Bond film “No Time to Die”, which was due for release in ‘Huh... it might be really, really nice to spend some time with weren’t speaking to each other... Because we knew they would April, was also postponed and will now go into cinemas in them now.’” Reeves-who went on to become a top Hollywood never separate.” —AFP November. —AFP A-lister with “Point Break,” “Speed” and “The Matrix”-is riding.

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