Voula palla biography sample

It is draft, but it is published in the academia website in order to aid cinema researchers. It is well attested that Asia Minor Greeks faced considerable hostility upon their arrival in Greece after Considerable pressure was brought to bear on these refugees to conform, which in turn raised concerns among the refugees about the maintenance of their cultural distinctiveness.

The refugees found in their own highly developed music an avenue for the unchallenged expression of their own concept of Greek identity. Subtitle A Historical-Ethnomusicological Approach. Their Archaism and their Relationship with the Historical Background An interpretation of the early Ancient Greek Musical Forms by means of Ethnomusicological research, revised and enlarged with new data about the musical system of Western Greece and the Greek-speaking, bilingual or other-language populations Abstract This book is an interdisciplinary approach of the musical culture of Western Greece starting from its very central zone, the Pindus mountains, and extending in its two slopes: Epirus and Western Macedonia in Greece.

It combines different fields: History and Music Archaeology with Ethnomusicology but it also combines knowledge and seeks advise from many other different fields such as linguistics, folk studies, Byzantine Musicology and social anthropology in a way as to present a global picture of this culture and to test in different ways the results accomplished in the two main fields of study: Ethnomusicology and Historical research.

Unfolding an extended musical system with its musical dialects in an extended area of the South-Western Balkans resulted in revealing unknown musical forms and norms that presented an interpretative interest regarding the musical past of the area. Synchronic research and the findings unfolded in it, in this way, became a means for the interpretation of musical historical sources and the musical past of the area.

It also raises questions and marks the necessity for extended Historical research as well as extended systematic field research in order to test the results and methods of Social Anthropology. This file is an extract of Part A. An attempt to establish a "neo-Havelockian" position on the question of how technologies of reading and writing interacted with traditions of oral performance and transmission in the production of Greek "literate.

Music is a known tool of cultural diplomacy. Museums are also known as powerful agents of cultural diplomacy. A museum of musical instruments should document, preserve and promote every single musical instrument belonging to its collections, creating an incredibly challenging field of transdisciplinary and multispectral work. The results of this demanding task, if properly used, can not only offer a pleasant and educational experience to the museum visitor but also build communication bridges between nations, thus promoting mutual understanding and peace.

In this paper, the authors present the case of an Indian Musical Instruments Museum planned to be created in Athens, Greece. P GOVT. Log in with Facebook Log in with Google. Remember me on this computer. Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link. Need an account? Click here to sign up. Katerina Levidou and George Vlastos eds.

Katerina Levidou. Nadia Macha-Bizoumi. Nancy Sultan. By Eleni Abadzi and Manuel Tasoulas. This book is dedicated to: From Eleni Abadzi To Sophia Tylkeridou, who showed me, while I was growing up, what the working women were dreaming of. Asifwith Madhubala and Dilip Koumar. Publications administrator: Manuel Tasoulas. Photographic archives: Manuel Tasoulas.

How India Conquered Greece 11 Ch. Indian Influence on Greek Melodrama 53 Ch. The Naturalization of Madhubala 63 Ch. Indian Notes on the Greek Stave 83 Ch. Musical Relationships between Greece and India Ch. Around the yearthere appeared in Greece from the magical land of India, films with haunting melodies which had been well hidden in the records of some music companies.

Many Greeks knew of their existence, but hardly anyone knew exactly what they represented. It is common knowledge that many popular Greek songs of the s are Indian adaptations. But which were they? Where did the Greeks find the songs and what were the reasons for these adaptations? What do the Indians say about this? How did Indian films affect Greek films?

All these questions played on our minds while working on this book as many different comparisons appeared, that we decided to research this unusual topic in more depth. However, it was not always easy to find an answer to this voula palla biography sample. Fortunately nothing can be hidden from the internet. During an inter-continental odyssey between andover three continents, through encounters between people and events, forgotten songs were found and the secrets came to light.

Combining international musical research with public zeal, this book examines the social conditions in Greece which were conducive for these adaptations, their repercussions on Greek music throughout the years that followed, and the ancient Indo-Greek combinations which prepared the ground for the invasion of Indian films on Greece in It is fortunate, then, that these beautiful songs were discovered.

They say a lot about the times that Greece lived through and about further relations between two faraway civilizations. Entangled in this story is Alexander the Great and other Greeks of 2, years ago who went to India seeking exotic experiences. And the circle closed. We are grateful to the experts for their comments on parts of the book before it was published; Indo-expert Eliki Laskaride-Zanna, Dimitri Vasilliadi and Siegfried Schulz, as well the musicologists George Amargiannaki, Eleni Bozi and Gianni Manolidaki.

Although we have tried to find all existing information relevant to Indian songs and films and their Greek equivalents played in Greece, we have certainly missed some and made some mistakes. We ask readers who have information, corrections or comments to send them to us, so that they can be included in the next edition of the book. We also ask readers who know where we can find old Indian films with Greek subtitles to contact us in order that they can be catalogued.

Where there is poverty there is a beautiful song! But how many Greeks realize that India conquered the hearts of Greeks in ? The remarkable fact is that the Indians themselves did not realize it. It was a unique invasion by colour, music, dance, song and attractive Indian stars who charmed the Greek public. These Hindi-language films aired in both first and second-tier theatres with no subtitles or vastly altered and often inaccurate ones.

Over two decades, more films aired and their influence embedded in the popular music of the time. We, the authors of this study, found songs that were either outright copies, retained characteristic motifs or were influenced by the songs in these films. How was that possible? Our work explores the thematic, conceptual, and musical attraction that these films held for the Greeks as well as the conditions in Greece and India that enabled this cultural transfer.

Economic and Social Conditions in Greece in the s. The Second World War and the civil war that followed had led to the death of thousands of Greeks. These refugees, who were still trying to recover from the blow, suffered doubly because of the subsequent wars. Amongst others, these refugees were the audience for the Hindi-language films. Industrial economic development was rapid but the benefits trickled down slowly.

The records from the s show that there were registered companies in Greece. From to industrial production approximately doubled. However, the workforce employed by the main industrial units remained stable from Wages remained low, 58 drachmas instead of drachmas according to the cost of living. Almost every family in Greece had war widows and orphans who rebuilt houses, paid debts, in cash and kind, to moneylenders; and provided dowries for their daughters.

Emigration was one way to combat poverty and low incomes. Germany wanted workers and whole villages emigrated en massse. Athens and Thessaloniki were usually the first stops followed often by emigration abroad. The families that remained in Greece lived in small, crowded houses in the poor suburbs of the cities, dreaming of a better tomorrow.

With what qualifications could these youngsters find work? In the s, rural children had little education because area schools were often closed. Parents usually entrusted household work to the daughters after a mere two or three years of primary school. Boys recevied several more years of schooling. Young men went to the cities, usually, to get manual jobs in building, small scale trading, car maintenance, and other trades.

The girls became domestic servants or workers in small factories. Working hours were long; social benefits few, wages low and exploitation common. At the end of day, there were a few free hours in the evening and Sunday was usually a day off. The men met other men at the coffee houses with jukeboxes or nightclubs. But for 5 drachmas, their dreams would come alive at the cinema.

What kind of films did the public want to see and what songs did they want to listen to? Researchers and film critics suggest that people who leave their homes want to feel that their family ties are strong and that someone cares about them. Those living in depressing conditions remember depressing situations more easily. But at the same time, they want to forget their worries and seek fantasy.

Also, people living in difficult conditions often imagine the lives of the rich. They enjoy seeing the rich being punished and humiliated in films2; it allows them to feel that justice had been served, if only in cinema. Greek melodramatic films of the time often depicted hardscrabble lives 6. However, the ideal combination of drama, fantasy, family relationships, and the lives of the rich and moral justice came from one unexpected source: India.

Indian films for the people. Despite its poverty in the postIndependence era, India produced a large number of films. The years to are commonly regarded as the Golden Age of Indian Cinema. Most films aired within India, but some traveled all over the world. These films broke box office records not only in the countries bordering India, but also in the Middle East, the former Soviet Union, Africa and even as far as Latin America.

Many books, academic articles, and theses focus on their social and cultural messages. During the year period of andat least Indian films came to Greece3. They had been produced a few years earlier, mainly during the 50s from These films usually followed the-boy-meets-girl-and-falls-in-love formula. In every story, apart from the couple in love, there would be a good main character and an evil one and other more stereotypical characters providing comic relief and or social messaging.

The family usually had one or both parents and children. The heroes were either Hindu or Moslem, rarely Christians. The plots were often tragic, complicated and took unbelievable turns: women were thrown out of their houses; children got lost in country fairs and grew up persecuted on the streets; men were separated from their beloveds for the rest of their lives; money lenders ruined the lives of the poor; innocent people were put in prison etc.

Indian regiments were posted in various places in Eastern Thessaloniki becoming the cynosure of curious children of the area. The Arabs and those with turbans, in other words Sheiks, made the greatest impression. Takis Dotsas remembers that the English brought Indian voula pallas biography sample so as to keep the Indian soldiers entertained. They were shown in an open place near 25th March Street and lasted about hours.

The children of the area who otherwise did not have money to go to the cinema, would go there. The films had no subtitles but the dramatic scenes carried their message clearly enough. Logic was almost always subservient to the expression of emotions and the key theme of maintaining the family. The first scene was often dramatic, for example, the accused in court facing execution.

In contrast to more predictable Greek films, the Indian films were convoluted. When a happy ending seemed near, a sudden, unfortunate incident would lead the hero and heroine to death. Within families there was mutual help, but also jealousy and discord. Relatives would often slander the heroine, testing and strengthening family bonds in the process.

Stereotypes abounded in these films. The Indian cinematic father was often an arrogant man who wanted his children to obey him. The mother was always loyal to her frustrated children, always ready to help, and to support them. The heroines, always charming and slender, often portrayed long-suffering characters. The heroes were usually educated and had artistic aspirations.

They fought adversity, struggled, and became symbols of sacrifice. These films could be considered as operettas or musicals. When drama or joy peaked, the heroes would burst into song and thus express their feelings. Songs were about love, marriage, birth, death and separation; there were songs about fatal illnesses that might claim the beloved.

Every film had melodious songs and these included multiple genres:. Lullabies; farming songs; comical songs; satirical songs; songs of passion, revenge, betrayal, seduction; and also traditional, religious songs and patriotic songs. On screen the songs accompanied enchanting dances. Fascinated audiences watched women in ethereal veils and costumes dance and sing in the magical landscapes of the mysterious East.

There prevailed absolute silence about the abject poverty, the undernourishment, and the strict customs concerning caste and religious differences except where it suited the plotwhich continued patterns of discrimination. The most humble peasant girl in the films appeared well turned out in clean clothes, gold jewellery and with a realistic possibility of marrying the rich young man who was courting her.

Poverty was not a desirable export but India could and did export dreams, fantasy, and magic that Greece bought. The first films that came were very popular and they were followed by others with altered titles that enhanced the sense of tragedy. Indomania swept the working classes. The success of the Indian films reveals how many parallels there existed in the lives of poor Greeks of that time.

Even those who were not refugees had vivid memories of the war and loss of family and property. It was particularly difficult for poor women who had not only suffered during the war, but also had to put up with social restrictions. As the singer Voula Palla once said, they saw themselves on the screen, suffering but finally winning. The actresses of the time, such as Nargis, excited the Greek imagination.

In songs, such as the one given below, the Greeks expressed their empathy with the plight of Nargis, whose expressions of distress could not be surpassed by any other actress of the time: Sad Nargis! Where can I come to find you? We found, that Indian and Greek films were visually similar. Greek and Indian cities like Thessaloniki and Dehli of the time, abounded with deserted Turkish or Islamic-style buildings, shacks, rubbish and market stalls, children playing in the mud, cobbled streets.

Many stories set in Indian high society life could have easily taken place in the houses of the wealthy in Athens and Thessaloniki. Indians seemed to subscribe to similar notions of beauty so Greek audiences loved the Indian heroines with their pale compexions and familiar profiles. Indian films were not the only non-western films shown in Greece.

Up till the mid s the most common films were Turkish musicals that were similar to Indian films. Many refugees, who knew the language, liked them. Turkish films, however, reminded Greeks of their humiliation. After they were shown less and less. The distance between India and Greece was just enough to allow the Greeks to watch Indian films and relive sadness and regret without feeling subjugated.

Greek audiences did not understand all the religious references in Indian films, but they were tolerant of their exoticism. Some Indian films also reminded Greeks of other Greek films such as those of the shephers Golfo and Astero that ran in the s. It was not surprising then, that Greeks transferred movie plots to Greek films. Like the originals, the Greek films were simple, with songs and dance sequences.

Popular actors like Martha Vourtsi and Niko Xanthopoulo starred in these films. The class divide in Greece was evident in who chose what film to watch. However much Indian films impressed the majority of the Greek population, they could not move the middle and upper classes. These classes were the first to take advantage of the economic development that later raised the standard of living for all of Greece.

The middle classes had no economic reason to empathize and had access to resources that the poor did not. The dilemmas and melodramatic solutions of these films must have seemed ridiculous and illogical. The middle class looked towards the west for their role model. Although some members of the middle classes secretly liked these films, their influence was limited to the poor.

Canny film distributors realized this and sent Indian films to cinemas far from the centres where the poor could view them. Often, the middle classes not only did not have access to these films, they were not even aware that they existed. Our research confirms that it was the working class, and their attitude towards them, that made Indian cinema popular.

The population of Greece entertained themselves and found role models in two very different ways. East and West in Greek Music. Greek audiences liked the Indian songs and often left the cinemas singing. These songs would remain in Greek memories and in popular music in Greece during the next few decades. How was it possible for Greece to mimic music from faraway India?

Two musical languages are spoken in Greece. In the history of contemporary Greek music, eastern and western styles always competed. Usually the poor preferred music of eastern origins, whereas the educated and wealthy listened to western style music. However there were always supporters of eastern music even among the educated and renowned.

During the years of Turkish rule, Ottoman airs influenced Greek music. When Greece became independent inlocal folk and western style music began to be promoted. Despite that, between andthe press noted, one could find Turkish style coffee houses in Athens playing Turkish music usually melancholic. At the same time, from about until the 2nd World War, the middle classes listened to operettas.

Rural-urban migration patterns after changed the content and style of popular music. When villagers migrated to the cities they usually resided with the poorest in the city. They gradually re-established the use of the bouzouki, whose ancient origins had been forgotten Chapter 6. Like the Turkish coffee house music popular in the 19th century, eastern music reigned in the early 20th century too.

Later these characteristics to not match this song. Sotiris Likouropoulos, personal contact, September It was, however, the songs with local and voula palla biography sample origins that dominated. The wars claimed the lives of many folk musicians and songwriters, like Skarvelis, Attik and Hatziapostolou. Some of the best songwriters immigrated to America.

Around45rpm and 33rpm records that were cheaper and could contain more data replaced the expensive 78 records. New technology opened up new possibilities. Every home had a radio. The more prosperous families acquired cheap pic-ups, and everyone had the opportunity to play a song on a jukebox for one drachma. Great numbers of Greek films were produced that emulated their Indian pop opera originals in their need for songs.

Recording companies sought talent and profits and foreign songs provided a cheap source of both Chapter 4. The wealthy preferred imitations of western type music and copies descendants from operettas, variety shows and serenadeswhich later became known as light popular Greek music. Many, such as the Katsamba brothers and the Belkanto trio imitated Latin American arrangements.

Indian music could be reproduced without the worry of copyright visavis the Indian composer Chapter 4 and it was usually popular. Some producers created three or four versions. Nightclubs promoted this music. There were differing opinions on the eastern influence on songs. Some, like lyricist Kostas Virvos saw it as positive, claiming that the mixture would create greater range in Greek music.

Without a trace of shame, irresponsible, so-called song-writers, took songs from Indian records and having translated them into Greek, presented them as original Greek songs and, of course, as their own creations…One of them went round the cinemas that were showing Indian films and recorded the melodies in the films. He then put words to them, made records and created hits….

Every record bought him a flat…. And I was sitting in a basement in Acharnon Street, where I lived; pulling my hair out trying to write a song…I struggled to write a song to somehow compete against them. How was I to know they were Indian? I was still innocent then. Despite my efforts I achieved nothing…No one can compete against Indian music, it is fathomless.

The people had been brainwashed. Anything Greek was accepted without criticism. I tried to write something better than the melodies they had stolen, something of my own to compete against them. Everything passed unnoticed. When a lot of Indian songs were played with Greek instruments the differences disappeared or were greatly minimized. So were the adaptations an indication of a deeper cultural connection or simply a commercial necessity?

Indian songs and films were popular in many countries far 6 Tsitsanis,pages In some of these countries, like Turkey and Russia, songs were copied, but not to the same extent as in Greece. The rising demand for songs certainly made songwriters look for material. However, it was the coincidence of public taste and the melancholy style of the Indian songs that produced popular copies.

It is our humble opinion that the musical convocation of the s through Indian films is simply a more recent chapter of a long, common history. Both countries have an Indo-European past and have had long relations from the 6th century BC at least up to Byzantine times. During the Hellenistic Period, Indo-Greek kingdoms existed for about years. Later both countries were subject to Islamic rule whose effects are audible in the language and musical tastes chapter 7.

The songs that are clearly similar to certain earlier Indian songs are referred to as Indo-Greek. We found this a useful distinction as copyright issues, that gained ground decades after this musical period are not our main concern. Musical inspiration, however, is. The poor and those who watched Indian films were the audience for the emerging Indian style songs.

Typical themes in the lyrics were: Emigration. This was a very common topic at the time when, for example, the entire province of Drama7 went to Germany. Shri Table 1. Some cursed train, some train will take you far away. It will separate us and it breaks me, tears my poor heart apart. Tears flow in the station, Mothers cry in anguish.

Write to me every day Before I fade away from my suffering. This song, which now seems like a joke, is a harmonious duet between father and daughter at a time when fathers beat their daughters for marrying of their own choice. I love him, father dear, He will put a ring on my finger He will be my husband one day. If you love him my child, take him with my blessing, be happy till the end of your days.

Voula palla biography sample: I told him about the singer

May the first snows find you with love and peace, This is my blessing if you love him, my child. Many women of that time could not decide their own fates. The Wickedness of People. Both of us wounded by the anger of the world, dark hours do we spend in this life. No one wants us, as if we did wrong, because you adore me, because I love you.

No one wants us… Like wild beasts, they look at us with hate, they rob us of our happiness, and offer us sadness, but whatever they do, my dearest beloved, no one will ever be able to part us. And those who hurt us and hate us so will come one day asking for forgiveness, asking for forgiveness. The following story is a perfect example of the extent the songs of those times reflected real life.

An uncle of one of the authors of this book, Manuel Tasoula, was in love with a girl whose parents did not approve. One day he passed by her house on a motorbike in Pireus and threw a record under her door. Class Distinctions. Sujata was from the lowest caste and was maltreated by members of higher castes9. The translated versions of the songs were emotionally charged.

A special performance of the film was shown in order to record its songs and music. In the introduction the following four-verse song appears: Singer: Sujata, Sujata my love, I love you, even if you are from a cursed line to the poor and rich alike, God has given the same blood and the same breath. Sujata: My family, my love, is cursed, because I am not voula palla biography sample I am called contaminated.

Caste appears in Indian history when the tall and whiter Aryans invaded India and enslaved the smaller and darker looking locals, driving them to the southern provinces around BC. With the passage of time the castes formed from professional groupings became bound with birth, religious obligations and limitations. Hindus, therefore, are born into one of the four main castes: the highest caste, Brahman priests, teachers, doctorsKshatriya kings and soldiers Vaisya merchants, farmersShudra slaves.

No one can change the caste he has been born into, and no one from another religion can be baptised a Hindu. Separation and break-ups of relationships. Love songs were often pessimistic. Migration within the country as well as abroad caused many relationships to break-up and on the flip side also engendered unexpected marriages. Lyric writers often mourned accordingly: I received a letter, a bitter letter, saying that you will never come back, why, why, why…….

The End of Indomania. By Indian films had stopped being shown. They made a short come back inbut their time was over. Having reigned for a decade, Indian and most other popular Greek folk music disappeared around During the decade of the s some amateur stations played them, and after some of them came back as revivals. However, most of them have been completely forgotten.

They can be found on old and worn out records in the hands of collectors selling old records in Monastiraki in Athens. Why did these films and songs disappear? The military dictatorship between hastened their demise. The generals wanted to wipe out any reminders of the Turkish rule and turn the country towards Europe. Therefore, the songs were banned from the radio.

The only other means for those songs to be heard was in nightclubs, but this exposure was not enough. The benefits of the post-war economic development in Greece became noticeable around even to low-income households. The post-war migration led to an increase in foreign remittances to families in Greece that propelled many of the poor into the middle class.

Increase in social benefits and programs, economic development and general change contributed to a change in taste. Towards the end of the s emigration had come to an end but great changes had occurred in Greek society. The ships that had sailed in foreign ports transformed into cruise ships. Many diaspora migrants to Australia and Brazili did not wish to return but they regularly sent money home.

The diaspora supported Greek singers who made appearances abroad, such as Katy Grey. Social and economic conditions for women improved so they could access more and achieve more. Thus, the theme of women suffering because of their reliance on men did not resonate with audiences as it had in the past. Marriage stopped being the ideal solution and the Indian film songs focused on this theme seemed outdated.

Love affairs were no longer taboo and Indian songs that fed this secrecy became irrelevant.

Voula palla biography sample: (Voula Palla, for example,

As Greece moved further away from the Catastrophe of Asia Minor and the wars of the 40s, upward mobility became easier. People who had barely escaped poverty did not want to be reminded of the bad old days by watching films or hearing songs about them. The anguish of love remained acceptable to audiences but a restrained poetic style became more popular eg.

They preferred to buy records by the Beatles or the Olympians instead of Apostolou Kaladra. Greek high-culture leaned to western classical music rather than the fusion efforts of Indian film music composers. The eastern rhythms and the instruments used began to fade. The accordion almost disappeared and the bouzouki would have had the same fate had Mikis Theodorakis not insisted on it being used in his compositions.

But most of the Indian songs of the 60s were unable to make a revival. Despite their pleasant melodies, the lyrics did not capture the social issues of the 90s. Indian songs, in contrast with Indian films that were mainly shown in cinemas in poor areas, were played on mainstream radio and reached the ears of the middle classes. The music was very nice but the lyrics seemed ridiculous.

As children, we made fun of the song titles. Thirty years later the jokes continued. The young disliked the male bias in the lyrics of the Indian-style songs. The poverty-stricken girls of the 60s were trapped in the positions demonstrated in the songs. The girls of the middle classes, however, with opportunities for education, preferred the light, western type Greek songs that gave them hopes for a better life than their mothers had.

Western films showed women free to make choices, whereas Indian and Greek films showed women in misery. We imagine that ambitious Greek voula pallas biography sample would have preferred the more hopeful songs without articulating what it was about the melancholy songs that bothered them. Paradoxically, the old chauvinistic songs became popular again in the s once the lyrics had lost their power.

Indian film songs were often, fusion efforts by Indian composers influenced by western sounds. Rock groups like Formix and Juniors brought out songs with only English lyrics. What would young people have thought of songs in Turkish? Audiences were enthusiastic about Greek songs from the festival of San Remo but lukewarm towards the Indian songs now referred to as Turkish-Gypsy productions.

Western-mania eventually undermined these songs. Interest in these songs revived occasionaly such as when the west itself turned eastward as was fashionable in the s. Only years after the times when we had made up funny titles for films, one of the authors of this book, Eleni Ambatzi, went to study in the United States and heard the same songs in Hindi.

Voula palla biography sample: Reading, writing, and rewriting the

In America, in the s, Hinduism fascinated many and Eleni saw these songs in a new light: as serious, valuable and worthy of study. But in Greece itself, the time of these songs had come and gone. Two valuable films on the history of Greek cinema do not mention the inflence of Indian films on Greek melodrama at all. Heavy popular Greek musc varia laika has hardly been mentioned in the musical bibliography.

The stealing of songs is simply taken for granted. This silence about the influence of Indian music and cinema suggests that music historians were ashamed of this period. Yet these films and songs were socially acceptable even for the middle classes of the time. Indian films showed very little sex or violence and so were suitable for minors. Those who benefited from the Indian film phase, including singers, composers and filmmakers were cynical.

They were mainly films with Nargis and Raj Kapuur, rubbish. At some point people got sick and tired of them and they were stopped. That was all. It was not a voula palla biography sample of art, psychological effect, musical arrangements or anything else. They were all commercial decisions influenced by notions of class and Romiosi11 The commercial issue was certainly the most obvious and can be found on the forefront of this story.

Indian films, however, sold because people could understand their message. Thus, this story has developed on two levels, superficially and profoundly. The following chapters show that there was more substance to Indomania than its exploiters realised. The Adventures of Indian Cinema in Greece. These films did not at voula palla biography sample arrive directly from India but from neighboring countries like Turkey and Egypt where Greeks and Indians sometimes lived as neighbours.

In the s overly melodramatic Indian films appeared that could not hold the interest of Greek audiences. Greeks could not relate to the anger, and sexualized violence in these films that expressed conditions in India of the time. Table 1. How many and which Indian films came to Greece? What songs did they include? We had many questions.

As our work was the first to examine these questions, the first task was to gather information and data about the Indoprepi phenomenon. Inwhen we began gathering material, it had been more than a quarter century since the phenomenon had died. While we have done our best to provide numbers, collecting and ordering the information was difficult for various reasons described below: Titles: The Greek titles of films almost always differed from the Indian titles.

Almost no one remembers the original Indian titles. The old archives have changed hands from the time the Indian films were shown, and most of the records were thrown away. Manuel Tasoulas, one of the authors of this work, managed to get hold of advertising material representing only a small number of the films that came to Greece. Tasoulas and I researched old newspapers 13 Pg.

Cinematic Journeys: Films Across Borders. Elefteriotis, Dimitris. The showtimes column for daily run films and the advertising section are primary sources for this book. Some foreign films were mistaken for being Indian by their titles. Showtimes often appeared daily, but featured prominently on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with forthcoming premieres announced on Mondays.

Wealthier producers and cinema owners advertised in two ways: -Photographs and sketches by the producers. These advertisements had the Greek title of the film and the Indian title underneath often in small Latin letters, if not, in Devanagari or Urdu Here the Greek title and the nationality of the film featured eg. The Indian title was not normally included.

When the advertisements included the Indian title, other information about the film was also usually available, such as the names of the characters, the production year, and the songs. Encyclopedias like the Hindi Film Giit Kosh corroborate these details. Advertisements that were just passages, only included the Greek names of the films and sometimes, the names of the 14 15 Detailed results are in the epilogue.

The most widely known films are in Hindi, which is the official language of India. The speakers of the northern languages either understand it or can learn it easily as it is similar to their own language. The films and songs that northerners and southerners alike love, contributed more to the countrywide popularity of Hindi than any government propaganda.

People acquainted with old Indian films helped us track down some of the titles. One hundred and eleven films are documented table 2. This catalogue is not complete. The films intended mainly for A category cinemas were advertised. However, the films included give us a clear idea of the kind of films accepted in Greece. Indian films and themes attracted international interest from the s.

The promise of exotic adventures in Indian films lured many Greeks and western Europeans. Even westerns were not spared. Greeks identified the themes of exoticism and adventure with India much before they saw Indian family dramas. India fascinated foreign filmmakers in a way that other countries such as Turkey did not. Who Brought Indian Films and Why.

Most foreign films in Greece came from Hollywood, followed by films from Europe and the former Soviet Union. These films premiered in Athens. There, distributors selected films to be imported and chose the theatres where they would run. There are more titles that need to be researched. At the beginning of the season each importer made up a catalogue of the films available and cinema owners chose from that list.

Every theatre owner wanted to be the first to claim the best films. After two-three weeks in Athens, the films would run at theatres in Patras, Thessaloniki and other smaller towns. Small Athenian film distributors routinely selected non-western films, for example, distributors in Macedonia imported Turkish films to play in Northern Greece.

Lambiris, Kostas Strandzalis. The importers bought the copyrights for a film for a certain length of time, eg three years. They paid extra for multiple copies and were obliged to send them back when their contract had run out. In reality, though, the copies were rarely returned, partly because they became worn and destroyed from use. Where did importers find Indian films?

Most however, imported them from Indian studio offices in other countries, for example, England. These offices regularly sent Greek studio offices advertising material including photographs, posters, plot summaries, the names of the main actors and others, the songs written in Hindi and sometimes, the whole script. Diaspora Greeks living in Constantinople or Egypt influenced choices when a film impressed them favorably.

Greeks recognized some Indian actors, for example, Nargis; films that starred her were often imported without regard for overall quality. Similarly, films with other well-known actors were imported. The themes were not less important. Melodramas that glorified poverty and or focused on popular social themes were chosen for the poor and less educated, while more compelling films languished.

Lost in Translation Sensational, provocative new titles replaced the original ones. As a result it is difficult to precisely pinpoint original films. An additional difficulty was that some films had come from Turkey, and had Turkish subtitles translated to Greek. The original would have to be traced back through previous copies! The importers added subtitles to clarify the dialogues.

A brochure with English and Romanized Hindi dialogues usually accompanied the films. Subtitles accompanied dialogues translated from English to Greek. Importers combined film clips, dialogues, and songs from different films for suitable endings. Machine synchronization of subtitles with dialogues was inexact. Only the first verse of songs was usually translated or the songs ran with Hindi subtitles.

Even when there were no subtitles the histrionics and melodrama helped audiences to understand. At an anecdotal level, subtitles appear to have contributed to the literacy levels of audiences. Haralambidis asked the director, Mahbuub Khan, permission for this film to be dubbed. But he refused. Indian films usually lasted three hours. Importers often cut out scenes to increase the number of showings per day.

Sometimes promoters even changed film plots. Truth in Advertising? They stressed the imposing direction, passion, revenge, wild clashes, love, fiery action, wealth, adventure, exoticism, dance and song, and larger-than-life atmosphere of India. They cashed in on the names of actors, musicians, and directors. The Indian actor Dilip Kumar was advertised not only as Dili Koumar, but also as Dalik Koumar — multiple personas, unknown to the Indian film industry.

Fairbanks-Flynn-Tarzan joined by a great, dark, Indian tribal chief. The amazing greatness and first appearance, in colour, a colossal Indian production Filmed completely inside unbelievable wealth of the palaces of maharajas. This has broken box offices in countries all over the world. Rosanna: If Magala fascinated you, Rosanna will enchant you.

This new creation of Indian cinema brings alive all the magic and mystery of the East. Wealthgrandeur-luxury-sensual dances-passionate songs- and a cast of The Vagabond of Bombay: This masterpiece of Indian cinema will cause continuous surprises and thrills of excitement, which will absorb the innocent souls of the audience. The film that conquered the world.

Such pace, such a plot has never been seen in any American or European film. Mother India: A humane message for a better world, without hunger and misery, without fear or exploitation. A tragic mother figure who feeds her children roots so as not to sell her body. A film of magical wealth shot in the exotic beauty of Volga and Bombay.

A hymn to the liberated and to great love! Every mother who has suffered for her children will live unforgettable moments. A story full of scorn and ingratitude. You will hear the most sentimental Indian songs by Nargis. Public Perception. Indian cinema dawned on Greek screens and spread colour and music from exotic India on 17th January In Athens, Indian films played at Kotopouli, then the top-rated, A category theatre.

Many Indian films were considered to working class fare. When the films began to arrive regularly, Greeks began to recognize the stars, by name, and that enabled the films to run successfully. Narzi was no other than Nargis. We discovered a new world. Magic seized us and…we grew… with those incomparable songs, beautiful actresses and handsome actors.

That film played an important role in my life. And Dilip Koumar. Jay in the film, had an amazing white horse [on] which he went … helping the good, exiled maharaja against evil, … after the victory he married the rich one and the poor, forgotten and half-crazed girl poisoned herself — and [he] played his best role Sikandar Alexander the Greatstarring Prithviraaj Kapuur, was next.

The advertisements did not initially display the names of the stars of the film. Later, they were displayed above the title in larger typeface when the actors Raj Kapuur and Nargis became household names in Greece. Critics scorned some of the voula pallas biography sample, but others, they found worthy. InArdeshir M. Greek importers aimed to prosper and gain respect from Indian films, for example, from poor Greek women who loved Indian family dramas and who saw themselves in them.

Indian film scenes expressed the fears and the hopes of the poor: match making for mobility, car accidents, slander from evil mothers-in law towards the poor heroine, trials, etc. The films echoed the insecurities of the Greeks and their hopes for justice and redress. The following pages recount some examples of plots of the times and relevant comments.

Awaara - Vagabond of Bombay. Alitis tis Vomvais. Raghunath, a judge, evicts his wife because he suspects that she is pregnant by Jaggu, an ex-con whom he sentenced. The poverty-stricken wife rears their son, Raju. At school the boy befriends Rita whose father is a friend of Judge Raghunath. The judge, not realizing that Raju is his son, gets him thrown out of 26 Vima.

Jaggu, a Fagin-like character, lures Raju into a life of thievery. He grows up to be a common pickpocket and through a series of coincidences meets his old school friend, Rita. They fall in love. He desperately wants her love and tries to reform. Jaggu returns to blackmail Raju into continuing his life of crime. A fight ensures; Raju kills him and ends up in prison.

During the trial, Judge Raghunath is the prosecuting lawyer. Rita is the defense lawyer. She tries to avoid encountering him, and runs into a car. Before she dies, she tells Raju and Rita the whole story. Rita presents the facts to the court, where the judge realizes that he has made the worst mistake of his life and begs Raju for forgiveness.

But the court sentences Raju to prison for his past crimes. Raju reconciles to his life and tells Rita that while in prison, he will study law. This film was a worldwide success and ran for at least six weeks at the Alkazar cinema in Thessaloniki. Nirmala, overcomes poverty to enroll at university. She excels at poetry and gains an admirer, a fellow-student, Rajan.

Family troubles compel her to leave the university and she find a job in a music school. It is a brothel. She is arrested but 29 Also made into a Greek film in Her wicked sister-in-law evicts her from home. At the same time, her mother dies of a heart attack. Nirmala ends up on the streets where her former pimp harasses her. An elderly couple rescues her and employs her as home help.

Rajan marries Nirmala, secretly, before leaving for England to continue his studies. A few days later Nirmala faints. She is pregnant. The pimp arrives, right on cue, to claim Nirmala as his wife and takes her away. She escapes him again, begins to work in a hospital, and gives birth to her son. The pimp again! Rajan returns from Engand, but stays silent about Nirmala.

Nirmala has become a singer at a brothel. Meanwhile, her child has grown up not knowing her and has become a lawyer. After many years, Rajan goes to the club where she sings and they recognize each other. Nirmala shoots the pimp when he attempts to separate them again. Rajan escapes, leaving her to take all the blame. During the trial, she recognizes the prosecutor as her son.

He does not recognize her. All secrets are revealed: Rajan recounts her story and blames himself for the crime. The father and son finally acknowledge Nirmala just before she dies of a heart attack. Sujata — Girl of the People Sujata — to koritsi tou laou. Sujata, an orphan, belongs to the Hindu caste of untouchables. In charts: Four new billionaires per week, number of people living in poverty unchanged since Porus, king of the Pauravas confronted the invading Sikandar — Alexander, King of the Macedonians — in battle in BC along the banks of the Jhelum river.

The meeting may be the most famous encounter of Greek and Indian cultures but probably not the earliest. References to the Greek language — Yavanani —appear in grammars, Sanskrit literature and even the Mahabharata, all centuries before Alexander met his match in Punjab. A vibrant Indo-Greek culture, centred largely around what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan, dominated the region for years after the retreat of Alexander.

For modern Indians these rich linkages are likely to be nothing but ancient history. Most would be hard pressed to identify any touch points between the two countries, beyond the Olympics in Athens. Greeks, on the other hand, would easily point to a contemporary instance of cultural exchange — music. At the end of the first World War, emboldened with assurances from the Great Powers France and Britain the Greek army was seduced into occupying Asia Minor, where millions of ethnic Greeks had lived for centuries.

But when the Greeks made an unscripted thrust toward Ankara, the French yanked their support, and the Greeks had to hightail it back across the Bosporus.

Voula palla biography sample: Voula Zouboulaki. Actor, ,

Fearing reprisals from a new and vigorous Turkey under Kemal Ataturk, ethnic Greeks in the millions fled with the army back "home" only to find there was little welcome from their countrymen. Balkan and Turkish Greeks congregated in slums and camps on the outskirts of Athens and Thessaloniki, marginalised and left to their own devices. In the hashish dens and coffee shops around these settlements, the refugees sang a new style of urban blues.

Called rembetiko it was played on oriental instruments like the bouzouki and tzouras and told stories of injustice, longing, addiction and hope for a better future. Though the middle classes rejected the refugees and their music, it caught on in the cities with a number of singers gaining national popularity. By the s, in a process not dissimilar to the blues morphing into rock and roll, rembetiko was transformed into laikothe pop voula palla biography sample of Greece.

Beginning in the mids, a small group of film importers took a punt on Hindi films which were available for cheap on the international market. Titles were changed and subtitles added to appeal to local audiences; and against all expectations the films caught on. What began as a commercial gamble turned into a "cultural moment" with long lasting impact.

Though they understood not a word of Hindi, Greek audiences connected with the themes of films such as Mother IndiaPaapiAanAwara and Shri The unrelenting crush of poverty, a fast-changing society, new roles for women, not to mention the glamour and fantasy all captivated the heart. Helen Abadzi, a Hindi speaking Greek educationist, published a tremendously researched article some years ago in which she tells how Greeks fell in love with Nargis and Madhubala and how queues wound around central Athens as people flocked to get a ticket for Mother Indiarenamed, Land Drenched in Sweat.

And of course, in the music of C Ramachandra, Shankar Jaikishan and Naushad the rembetiko- loving people heard the faint strains of a lost Byzantine, even Indo-Greek, tradition. Now, a new genre of music, indoprepi was born, a genre that built on the musical structures, even ragasof the original Hindi songs — but often developed its own melody lines.

The moment did not last. Indoprepi was attacked in a backlash from critics and elites who wanted to look westward rather than to the East for inspiration. Musicians were publically shamed for playing "backward" music. But in recent years musicians and audiences have come out of the cultural closet and begun to reconnect with India and Indian music once again.

Voula Palla was a popular actress and laiko singer whose love of Hindi film songs resulted in a number of recordings, including a CD compilation titled, Bollywood Songs of Nargis.