Without an agonisingly repressed snigger or hint of irony, David Hasselhoff is a big star in India. Knight Rider (DVD) and Baywatch (DVD) still regularly run on TV over there and they can’t seem to get enough of his ‘life saving’ antics.
"I’m proud of shows like Baywatch and Knight Rider because it’s about saving lives, not taking lives." commented the ‘Hoff’ while collecting his (by most accounts) Oscar-on-a-diet statuette.
He means it, man.
He’s such a nice man that Mr. Knight. The Bollywood Movie Awards are special in that they are voted for by the fans instead of by idiots. No clueless actors voting for Best Sound Design and the like here. How else might you explain Hasselhoff’s appearance? We wouldn’t imagine this year’s Lifetime Achievement award winner Shammi Kapoor is too big a fan. But then we shouldn’t really put words in his mouth.
"It’s entertainment, it’s tongue in cheek, it brings the world together.†Yeah, go Hasselhoff, he’s our man, if he can’t wear stonewashed denim, no one can!
Despite grinding out over a 1000 movies a year most Bollywood features struggle to make any cash at all. That’s a shame because they’re a truly original format, still. Especially to those heartily fed on a diet of Hugh Grant (DVD) and Harlin (DVD). Try a breath of fresh air once in a while, it’ll do you good.
Other big Bollywood Award winners that you probably won’t have heard of include Aftab Shivdasani (Best Comedian), Shahrukh Khan (Best Actor), Yash Chopra (Best Director) and Rani Mukherjee (Best Actress).
But it was Hasselhoff’s night. He reins supreme in every genre of entertainment ever. Ah, doesn’t he just make you want to sing?
Altogether now, “We’ve been looking for freedom!†Oh yeah, feel that leather.
[story by Chris Laverty]
