Actress
Noureen Dewulf plays an Indian sorority pledge named Sanagarvarapoopoo “Poo
Poo” Gandosimi in this summer’s “National
Lampoon’s
Pledge This!” The film reads like a female rehash of “Van Wilder,” and
stars wealthy porn star Paris Hilton as the sorority president. Peta Cooper (PC) interviews
Dewulf (ND) for DesiClub.com:
PC: Does your character have a lot of “fobby” qualities?
ND: Fobby? Not really, I mean she speaks with an accent, wears Indian clothes and is really innocent until she gets corrupted.
PC: Does she wear deodorant?
ND: Peta – Shut up! (laughs) I kind of like FOBs anyway. They are cute and funny plus ignorance is bliss right?
PC: So you’re in this movie with Paris Hilton, how do both of your characters interact?
ND: Well, Paris’ character, Victoria, is the president of a sorority (Gamma Gamma) that my character Sanagarvarapoopoo Gandosimi aka “Poo Poo” is trying to pledge. So basically, she tortures me and the other pledges throughout the film, which is really funny. [DesiClub.com]
Even if it is funny, it’s going to be pretty damn hard to top the hilarity of Hilton picking up a cell phone during the sex scene in her previous masterpiece, “One Night in Paris.” (NSFW)
DesiClub.com: Noureen DeWulf — in hot company with Paris Hilton
I don’t know about “Pledge This!” but that other movie sounds awesome: “‘West Bank Story,’ a musical comedy set in the fast-paced, fast-food world of competing falafel stands on the West Bank.”
What the hell is a sorority?
And who exactly is Noureen Dewulf ?? Any pointers to a biography of sorts?
Whoah– ‘Poo’ is an (inadvertent?) K3G reference.
Van Wilder threw in a cute desi actress for Taj (Kal Penn) in the party scene.
When I gain control of the Mutiny, I will exclude all coverage of desi octaroons, or at the very least make note of their mixed heritage at every possible chance.
I quite like octaroons. It’s those quadroons I can’t stand.
But seriously, what is a sorority?
Noureen Dewulf is such a made up name.
Manish, good catch! It’s particularly apt, given that this seems to be about sororities.
Since nobody’s helping out punjabi boy our UK friend, here’s how Google defines a sorority.
It’s a uniquely American institution and has little or nothing to do with Greece, except for the Greek alphabet.
And oh, there’s a whole subgenre of movies about fraternity/sorority hijinks, with “Animal House” probably being the all-time classic.
Hope that helps.
damn!
that Google link: http://http//www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=deskbar&q=define%3A+sorority
timepass
Thanks for that. It sounds like a kind of freemasonry.
You mean : http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=deskbar&q=define%3A+sorority
This girl looks 100% desi. I guess she can’t be b/c of her name though.
No comment from Apple? I thought you hated actors who propagted the myth that indians are idiots. I know you forgave Kal Pen for his role in Van Wilder (I’m not going to ask why) but seriously….
Actually I know why… you sick sick bastard…
Does she play a head-wagging ‘bud bud bud’ dot head/Apu Indian in this film?
Oh dear, any actor who plays that kind of version these days is a sap.
But maybe she doesnt, wait till the film comes out then judge.
Actors will do anything for a few dollars, even sell themselves out, I suppose. When Indian actors do it, they are so pathetic and vulgar. They must really hate themselves.
Touche Punjabi Boy I too have an uncle… /Peter Griffin
I couldn’t care less. But 10 bucks says she is playing a sap. I do like how you oh so vociferiously defended her tho. 😉
Dman I really need to use a spell chekcer… /irony
Not that vociferous Rishi, just not judging until you know the facts.
But if she got on her knees and licked boots and waggled her head from side to side and says bud-bud-bud for $$$$$ then she is a sap.
By the way, this shows how far behind Indians are in America compared to England, because you could NEVER depict desis that way on TV or in the movies in the UK, it just doesnt happen, it just couldnt happen here, no way, those days are way in the past.
Look for Nirali Magazine to shed light on Noureen’s unknown identity…
PunjabiBoy-
At least in America desis aren’t persecuted in REAL LIFE on a daily basis. I’m so glad I’m in America.
C’mon guys (flaming and punjabi), calm down… we don’t want a desi version of the war of 1812 starting up.
I’m not sure if I’m misunderstanding the tone of Punjabi Boy’s post, but it seems a bit harsh to judge actors as “saps” and “pathetic and vulgar” for taking roles that are rooted in stereotypes. Yes, ideally, South Asian actors would all have the fortitude to refuse to play poorly-written or one-dimensional roles, but I would imagine that it’s hard enough to break in to the acting business, even without the added problem of being relegated to certain “ethnic” roles. (Not that I know anything about the acting business.)
I haven’t seen “Van Wilder,” so I don’t know how stereotypical Kal Penn’s role as Taj Mahal Whatshisnuts was, but I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that it could probably fit into the “head-wagging dot head Indian” category. While obviously I would rather see more nuanced portrayals of South Asians in American movies, does that fact that playing this role probably helped Kal Penn en route to getting larger, less stereotypical roles (Harold and Kumar, The Namesake) somehow make this a more acceptable compromise? I don’t know the answer, but it seems to me that holding out until the perfect role comes along (or writing it yourself), while ideal, probably isn’t easy.
Also, sorry if this is a dumb question, but what is “bud bud bud?”
Poo Poo? I actually laughed out loud at that, which pretty much brands me a loser….yeah, I don’t think I’m gonna see this movie, but whatever. You go girl! and all that.
Also, how come the Sepia Mutineers are always putting pictures of hot desi chicks on their website but all the ladies (and statistically, what, 10% of the men ? Not that there’s anything wrong with that) get is stupid pictures of Apprentice Raj? I know, I know, it’s your site, but man, I thought a bunch of ya’ll were progressives?
*You know, it’s just occurred to me that I can never run for office given the quality and character of my blog comments. So all you future Jindals, better just lurk. No commenting.
after your bizarre comment on abhi’s cute “south park” post, i’m not sure i’m glad you’re here.
kindly forgive me in advance if i somehow misunderstood your motivation for feigning surprise at the “lack” of “jack” on my face, but considering how lately this blog has become a disenchanted forest where i am the quarry, i think i’m entitled to feeling wary.
also, i think all people who are “different” face problems everywhere. the UK doesn’t have a monopoly on shitty treatment of brown people, especially not after 9.11. “at least, i’m an american/brit” statements don’t accomplish a damn thing. sadly, there is no utopia on this ball of confusion.
:+:
punjabiboy,
did you see “legally blonde” with reese witherspoon? that flick had much sorority in it. 🙂
No need to run around like a hairdresser on fire, just hold on to your friends.
am i the only person mildly offended by “poo poo”?
maybe it’s because i haven’t seen the van wilder films…maybe it’s some kind of running joke?
maybe it’s because i can hear paris snickering at it “poo poo…omg, that is like probably the name of the chick who works at 7-11 by my place.”
i thought the same thing manish did– “poo” is straight out of KKKG. that poo (karishma kapoor??) def. could’ve been in a sorority.
Hmmm….ohh yeah, she is hot come to think of it. I had no idea. I was totally immersed in the details of her role. bwahahah…
No but seriously…seems more desi females are making it in show bitness, and we all know show bitness is all about hot folks…so that might explain it.
Oh and I agree, less pics of Apprentice Raj please.
I followed a link in the comments on another post and got to Divanee Magazine‘s site where Noureen is shown on the cover. However, I could not find a mention of her anywhere in the issue. Am I going crazy?
Getting a role as the token fob girl for some B-movie is does not mean that she has made it in show biznezz.
MD: What – those photos of Vikram Chatwal that we’ve posted don’t do it for you?
Token Fob girl? It’s a classic role in plenty of movies: the really hot foreign girl who all the guys want to get with (or into)… usually she’s Swedish or German or some other “exotic” European. According to the description, this Dewulf chick seems to be playing the “hot foreign girl” role… she just HAPPENS TO BE INDIAN rather than European.
I don’t think it’s demeaning at all; rather, I think that the mainstream recognizing that there are ultra-hot Indian girls out there is major progress from the stingy liquor store owners that the media would always portray us as.
Cue Raju’s “Brown Womens’ Media Sexualization” flipout
🙂
flaminghotness
Actually, many desis in America suffer racism and persecution on a daily basis in America, physical as well as verbal prejudice, especially post 9/11. Muslims and Sikhs have been the chief targets of this. You shouldnt take my comments personally, they were just an observation, and for your information, I am a supporter of the USA whenever it is traduced by simple minded people in my company as happens a lot these days in light of recents wars and events.
Raab Bless America.
ANNA
I will check that movie out 🙂
ads
‘bud bud bud’ is an approximation of that stuttering Peter Sellers accent and voice that is the hallmark of all dumb Indian stereotypes in film and TV over the years.
///I don’t think it’s demeaning at all; rather, I think that the mainstream recognizing that there are ultra-hot Indian girls out there is major progress from the stingy liquor store owners that the media would always portray us as.///
So you want the US media to exoticize Indian women just like Asian women. I fail to see what so progressive about that. Indian men will still be stingy liquor store owners and running 7-elevens.
am i the only person mildly offended by “poo poo”?
My first thought was “ugh. This is as bad as Gilbert and Sullivan’s naming Japanese characters ‘Yum-Yum’, ‘Pish’tush’ and of course ‘Nanki-Poo’ in the Mikado. It’s just more condescending exoticism.”
Then I thought about the Poo reference from K3G and considered that a possibility as well. Thought “Hey, that’s obscurely cool…”
But I’m still torn. Clever shoutout to an obviously sorority-esque character from a great film, or the vestiges of evolutionary racism and colonialism? You decide.
Do you expect something clever or even an intelligent satire when it stars Paris Hilton?
I hereby retract my last comment about there not being enough pictures of male good-lookers on the Sepia Mutiny blog website. That was exceedingly rude of me and I feel bad. Really. There have been, from time to time, links to, and pictures of, some very handsome desi men on this site. Not that I care. Much.
(*Also, I laughed at the Poo-Poo joke, because, well, it’s a poo-poo (poopy) joke. I had no idea it represented some sort form of colonial oppression. Hmmmmmmm, are low-flow toilets and Pampers trainers also oppressive? Should we even potty train? Enlighten me. I tend to miss these references because I am literal.)
I think the reason that Indian men are always portrayed as weird is because desi male looks do not fit the model of what is considered good looking for men in the US. For the same reason Asian men are lampooned as well. For men the model is caucazoid features. As Indian males in general do not have caucazoid features, they are not considered sexy by the mainstream. Of course the unsexy have to be lampooned by the culture.
MD:
Actually, I agreed with your “where are the cute guy pics??” comment…there are lots of posts about beautiful women (including TMBWIW, naturally), plus gratuitous shots of Jessica Simpson, etc. I’d like more eye candy!
-D
“So you want the US media to exoticize Indian women just like Asian women.[?]”
Considering that all of the girls in this movie are going to be somewhat exoticized (the blonde Paris Hilton as a prime example), there’s really nothing wrong with exoticizing our women just a little. DeWulf will probably have a very one dimensional role, but hell, do you really think Paris Hilton or any of the other sorority sisters are going to have complex personalities? This is going to be a stupid (though probably funny) movie, and it’s going to have stupid characters.
As for exoticizing brown women being progress… YES, I consider it definite progress. But you have to understand the level of degradation that I had to put up with at one point in my life because of the media’s portrayal of Indians in a strictly negative manner. Seeing a South Asian portrayed positively (even though it’s just because of her looks) is a big deal for me.
apparently. as long as i don’t see it or smell it, i’m not offended. 😉
D, MD- they did give us Gotham Chopra…
Do you expect something clever or even an intelligent satire when it stars Paris Hilton?
Uh, it’s National Lampoon… i’m expecting nothing but mindless comedy with them. But scriptwriters do tend to pepper their scripts with in-jokes (see the Kumar dream sequence with the bag of weed, which parodied Raging Bull, for an example)…
it’s a poo-poo (poopy) joke. I had no idea it represented some sort form of colonial oppression. I guess this is what you get when you analyze 21st century bathroom humor and capitalist cinema in the light of 19th century operetta… 😉 The names G&S chose for their characters were not chosen because they even resembled anything remotely Japanese. They sound like baby talk, with little regard to authenticity. And the audience would laugh, because of these funny Oriental names and likewise, funny Oriental people.
I think that sort of this same thing is going on with this character and her 17-letter name, that has to be shortened (to something slightly offensive!) so that Americans can pronounce it… it is certainly portraying the typical Indian-American “thank you come again” stereotype for the enjoyment of your typical American audience. Then again, it’s National Lampoon, whose films are totally based around stereotypes… I don’t think the idea that you’re going to meet more Indian girls named Anjali or Pooja, or Susan or Anna, than Sanagarvarapoopoo, even played a part. Authenticity isn’t funny and it doesnt sell tickets.
For the record, Paris Hilton’s character is “Victoria,” not “Poofie” or “Kiki” or some other airhead-sounding name that would befit a stereotypical sorority president.
I do not think they are doing it out of a sense of cultural superiority, as Gilbert and Sullivan did, but more out of the idea that stupid humor and stereotypes make for good ticket sales.
But why do stupid humor and stereotypes make for good ticket sales?
He is objectively handsome…but doesn’t he remind you of his dad deepak in an off-putting sort of way?
Luckily we’re not their shareholders (most of us anyway) so who cares what sells. The question is whether its the right thing to do or whether there should be any outcry against it. I’m not sure if such a response is necessary here, but I don’t think the profit motive should ever justify racial belittling.
andrea – that’s a good question. Why are stereotypes funny to most people? It’s true in many cultures. I wonder why?
And here I one up you: is the ca-ca funny in non-Western cultures? I mean, I see lots of stereotype and caricature in Bollywood films, but very few ca-ca jokes. But then, Bollywood doesn’t have the equivalent of the National Lampoon-type humor, does it? Wouldn’t that require a certain amount of youth culture? For, you know, the ca-ca jokes? Eh? Anyone? Bueller?
I am a little confused by all these Anna haters. Who are these people and why are they picking on Anna ? Get some life losers!
To “more on meet some friends”,
Fuck you. You’re the type of conservative Indian trash that makes me vomit. Whether or not you have a problem with Anna, your comments on what she decides to write about and her style of dress were completely uncessesary. By the way, why are you hijaking this thread? YOU and people like you make me sick.