Wednesday, April 20, 2011

YouTube Viral Star Brings Bollywood Back to Indonesia


Briptu Norman Kamaru
The viral YouTube video featuring charismatic Indonesian policeman Norman Kamaru singing an Indian song has surprisingly initiated a resurgent interest in Bollywood among Indonesian people. The Youtube video of Norman’s lip-sync interpretation of ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya‘ has spread from the small town of Gorontalo to make him an instant internet celebrity.
The remarkable side-effect here is that people in Indonesia appear to have become infatuated with Bollywood entertainment almost overnight. Facebook groups, celebrity fan sites, TV shows, live music — all now feature everything Bollywood. You can see in the graph below that Google searches for “Bollywood” spiked on April 7th, which was the very day that we reported on the video going viral.


Gadgets powered by Google
With the spread of Norman’s video via other social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, the people of Indonesia are paying more attention to Indian songs and films. The video has brought a new spirit to the Indonesian entertainment world, which had seemed somewhat monotonous with horror films and Malay songs.
It will likely come as no surprise that First Brigadier Norman is himself currently in the process of recording an Indian-style song, to be entitled Farhat’s Love. It will be interesting to see how much influence a born-on-the-net viral star can exert on the traditional entertainment world here in Indonesia.
Other posts on YouTube star, Norman Kamaru:
Related posts:
  1. Funny Bollywood Cop Video Goes Wildy Viral in Indonesia
  2. Nike’s Star Studded Viral Ad Spices Up World Cup 2010
  3. How Bollywood Dancing Cop Gains Fame on YouTube
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And IPL team with the ‘hottest’ dugout is…

A quick look at the IPL’s ooh-la-la ratings

Liz Hurley, Preity Zinta and Deepika Padukone (GETTY/AGENCIES)
The beauty stakes in crickets T20 Indian Premier League have just been seriously upped.
While there is a sense that the tourney this time is more about what’s happening on the field, as against in its earlier avatars under ex-founder Lalit Modi, the appearance of one very glamourous Briton will have cameras panning to the stands and dugout a lot more.

Rajasthan Royals' co-owner and Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty reacts after her team won the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match against Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad, India, Saturday, April 9, 2011. Rajasthan Royals beat the Deccan Chargers by 8 wickets on the second day of the fourth edition of IPL on Saturday. (AP)
Actress, supermodel and British beauty Elizabeth Hurley is said to be India-bound to cheer her beau Shane Warne, who captains the Rajasthan Royals’ team.
Reports say Hurley will be coming with son Damien. Ironically, they will be staying at Jai Mahal Palace in Jaipur which is not far from the Rambagh Palace where she married Nayar four years back.
Mumbai Indians' co-owner Nita Ambani waves a team flag during an Indian Premier League cricket match against Delhi Daredevils in New Delhi, India, Sunday, April 10, 2011. The fourth edition of the world's richest cricket tournament scheduled between April 8-May 28 comprises of 10 teams and 74 matches. (AP)
Lately, Warne has been brushing up Hurley’s knowledge of cricket.
With a host of Bollywood stars and celebrities already involved as owners of various IPL teams, the action in the stands is bound to heat up.
With Shilpa Shetty co-owner of the Royals, Warnie’s side may now lead the “sexiest supporters” stakes, adding Liz Hurley to the list.
Kolkata Knight Riders team owners and Bollywood stars Shahrukh Khan, left and Juhi Chawla, right, cheer during the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match against Rajasthan Royals in Kolkata, India, Sunday, April 17, 2011. (AP)
The Punjab Kings XI has actress Preity Zinta in their dugout, while the Kolkata Knight Riders have the superstar Shah Rukh Khan and former Bollywood queen Juhi Chawla.
Owner of Bangalore’s Royal Challengers, Dr Vijay Mallya’s son, Siddarth, often has Bollywood bombshell Deepika Padukone by his side making these Royals pretty hot to watch as well.
Most Bollywood stars being based in Mumbai, might by default, support the Mumbai Indians and with a little prodding from Nita Ambani could easily show up in numbers to sizzle for the Mumbai cause.
Which leaves teams like Hyderabad’s Deccan Chargers, Pune’s Warriors, and the Kochi Tuskers to start considering what the celeb quotient in their dugouts is going to be.
Then there is the Chennai Superkings. All they need to do is bring in Rajnikanth. Game over.
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