Let it go down in The Historical Archives of the Mutinous that I have officially posted way too many Paris Hilton references in this Mutiny-Wallah stint for my own good. But, gosh darn it, she makes it so easy!
The 25-year-old heiress to the Hilton hotel fortune will shoot for her friend, Anand Jon, an American fashion designer of Indian descent who is introducing a line of high-end evening wear for India’s stylish elite.“For her, India is the land of exotica and beauty. In fact, her response was: ‘I finally get to visit the exotic’. She loves Indian culture and the Indian influence on clothes,” he said. [link]
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p>Ugh. She used the ‘E’ word. Ironically, as I had posted earlier, even though we’ll be able to see her model clothes for India’s stylish elite, they still cannot watch her music video on TV….
In August, Indian censors issued an “Adult” certification — which means it cannot be broadcast on any TV channel — for the blonde socialite’s new music video “Stars Are Blind.”.jpg)
Although she hasn’t visited the country before, Hilton is well known in trendy Indian social circles and CD copies of a notorious sex romp involving her and an ex-flame can be bought locally for as little as $2. [link]
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p>Who is this desi man that runs in Hilton’s party circuit? First and foremost, he’s a blogger. Anand Jon is also a famous ‘American fashion designer of Indian descent,’ though a quick glance through his Spring 2007 collection didn’t exactly blow my LA-fashionista-mind. Maybe if Paris Hilton’s wearing it, or one of ‘India’s stylish elite,’ it would be more appealing…? Frankly, I find the gratuitous use of the word ‘exotic’ in describing his fashion as well as without seeing a brown skinned woman wearing his gear on his catwalk a little irksome.
Mr. Jon developed a passion for metals and fabrics growing up in South India, under the tutelage of master artisans and his grandmother, one of the most influential women in his life. During these formative years, his deep involvement in the Yogic disciplines set a metaphysical yet playful flavor to all of his creations. Anand Jon often pays homage to his heritage, while also embracing the cosmopolitan vibe of New York City and the raging progress of modern technology.
We can be sure that of one thing- that with Brangelina in India this year, and Paris Hilton going to Mumbai next year, that the Indian paparazzi are hitting jackpot on the tabloid photo front. I wonder if all this means Paris Hilton post-India will get inspired to add ‘exotic Hindu beats’ on her next album release… I can hardly wait.
anand jon looks like fabio with that hair. a lion. paris in india? ugh. never been a fan of a gal who is famous for nothing besides being rich. after she cried when she heard her album i wanna see how much she cries when she sees real poverty in mumbai… oh wait.. she’ll be whisked away to some ‘exotic’ suite at the leela palace i’m sure. duh. or is it the oberoi? 😉
Far too many (myself included) have used the “E-word” for our own personal benefit. Simply grab your latest novel by a desi written in english, for example, and read the description on the back. Look at the subject matter in many of these novels and the way it is “exoticized.” We’re doing it to ourselves, often making money on it, and we expect someone like Paris Hilton to know better?
gag
AJP says Julie Ann Titus says he’s stinky (though possibly in an exotic way).
Inquiring minds want to know!
I can’t think of another phrase to make this person sound even more full of himself. “…metaphysical yet playful…” Oy. And who exactly is the “indian stylish elite?” I take it my love of free t-shirts will not put me in the company of these people.
And I know I’ve asked this before, but I’ll go ahead and ask it again ’cause I still haven’t heard a satisfying answer. Why is the “e-word” so hated?
while the hoi-polloi know her as that gori that did shameful things with her man
that we picked up in a cellophane-wrapped VCD from behind Bandra Station for Rs.85 even though the guy selling them wanted Rs.140. Hell yeah!
Sriram, I tried to explain it to PG a while back, but maybe you already caught that and it’s still not explained to your satisfaction. The negative connotation, as far as I can tell, was cultivated by the Orientalism discourse. First, it is literally othering, and, therefore, creates a binary (which is always bad news). Second, othering appropriates a certain identity (which implies essence) for the Self and imposes a certain one on the Other. These identity labels create a massive grea area of culture politics. Manish or the prof would probably be able to explain it better.
Thanks, Shruti, for the explanation. I missed the comment to which you linked and that answer makes perfect sense. Just judging by the comments on this site, it seems to be more of an issue with respect to women than it is with respect to men. I suppose it’s because we are generally not hit on in public and thus we are not exoti-fied.
Paris Hilton is the ultimate drama queen. She revels in drama. She loves it. She is quite good at manipulating it. She is a businesswoman who is actually not in the red.
Dont take what she says too seriously. 😉
That is one of the funniest paragraphs I have ever read!! Its BS to the nth power.
salil, i’ve met anand jon before when he designed clothing for some of my college fashion shows. not only does he stink, but he doesn’t appear to bathe regularly and comes off as smarmy, greasy, deluded as to his own talents and just generally unpleasant.
Everyone, could we please refrain from commenting on Jon’s odor? He reads SM and was quite upset about it last time. In general Haterade is never encouraged on SM. It is against the principles found in the Gita. Thanks.
That’s pretty deep coming from someone who didn’t know who Tony Blair was on a recent British trip.
You’re exoticized less simply because of the basic gender dynamic of patriarchy, which exists everywhere, regardless of region, race or ethnicity. The fact that women are objectified far more than men is pretty basic knowledge, but exoticization is not only the othered woman’s problem. Orientalism has a tendency to hypersexualize the Other, be it a man, woman, inanimate object, idea or any other entity. Hypersexualization has a way of engendering the subject. The “Oriental man” is either hypersexualized as a predator, which is beastializing, or he is “feminized” as a lesser male, which means he’s unfit to take charge of “his” women. It speaks volumes on the presence of patriachy and racism and the gender of colored skin.
For instance, the guys on SM really get their feathers ruffled when PG exoticizes desi men. It’s weird even for desi women to hear another woman talk about “exotic Indian men” because we’re not used to seeing men objectified like that. That’s a woman’s place – to be exposed, displayed, examined, judged and intellectually possessed – and all on the basis of superficial features. It’s degrading for anyone, but for men, it culturally disenfranchizes them to the level of women (which in patriarchy is a really bad thing). Historically speaking, this has always been the affect of Orientalism on the “Oriental man”. So yeah, there’s a lot going on with exoticization… 🙂
I wish, hope and pray that someone gets a picture of Paris getting garlanded and “tilak’ed”. I mean, that would be, like, so hot! tee hee hee
Speaking of PG and “exotic” =)
This is a relatively free country, therefore your use and definition of the “e” word can be different than mine, and that’s OK.
For me, exotic was, is, and will continue to be something positive.
Like I said in another post, Angelina Jolie is exotic looking whereas Aiswarya Rai is not, in my opinion. So henceforth I should not be accused as exotifying desis. To me exotic means somebody is sultry, alluring, sexy and generally looks like they could be from any number of ethnic backgrounds, not really able to be pin-pointed or boxed in. Angelina fits that bill pretty much.
As far as the “banning” or whatever of Paris’s video. Good on India! Is India missing something by not being able to watch it? Hardly. I believe in censorship of things that are not beneficial to the intellectual development of people. More than half of what passes as “entertainment” on American television would be censored/banned if I was dictator here.
That being said, I just rented WATER and cannot see what all the protests in India over this film were about. I mean, there were no violent or sexual scenes at all. It was pretty tame in that department compared to most “bollywood” films.
“There are many things left to be finalized,” Jon continued. (from ToI). READ: a great PR spin to a non-existent campaign.
You’re really going to tell me that Aishwarya is not sultry, alluring and sexy?
Sonia Kaur,
I’m confining my contribution to SM these days to “essential only” comments, but since you’ve mentioned Angelina Jolie I have to briefly respond here.
This is purely a personal opinion, but a woman genuinely being sexy has as much to do with her personality (probably more) as it does with how she looks. Looking stunning and striking various poses is fine, but whether she really is sexy in the real, palpable sense of the term is a factor of what she’s like “on the inside”, which obviously has a subtle and not-so-subtle effect on the outside too. These things can also affect the person’s general demeanour and so on.
Angelina and Aishwarya are both on a similar level in the beauty stakes; however, Ms Rai has overdone it in terms of previously promoting a “giggly girly innocent” persona, which has had an effect on the credibility of her attempting to be sexy later on. So it can come across as a little fake and forced.
Angelina has had a fairly wild life in some aspects and comes across as a little more genuinely “knowing” both on-screen and during her various public appearances, including interviews. She tends to exude womanliness, with relatively little effort on her part (as far as we know). So all that plays a part too.
Hence the difference.
I guess if you wanted to compare an Indian woman with Aishwarya, a good candidate would be Bipasha Basu, who is also sexier than Ms Rai — just her general personality and demeanour, I’m not just talking about her on-screen persona. Things may change with Aishwarya depending on her life-experience and how it affects her; a good male example would be Abhishek Bachchan, pre- and post-Karishma Kapoor. The whole thing’s obviously made him grow up considerably and, along with the professional success he’s simultaneously enjoyed, it’s had a tremendously positive effect on his maturity, general persona and level of confidence.
That’s all I wanted to say, but hopefully it’s a positive contribution to the discussion from a male perspective. I’m bailing out now 😉
many, many years ago i went to a party hosted by anand jon in a downtown nyc club. i was chatting up a very pretty indian chick who introduced herself as anand’s…mother. then she, according to my friend, tried to introduce me to her daughter but i was so discombobulated by the mom hit that i didn’t get what was going on.
i do remember them being really nice though. anand himself strolled by and did one of those maneuvers where you talk to someone without looking at them. he’s generally unpleasant, as many have noted, and someone very close to him–who shall go unnamed because he reads this site–described his unpleasantness as “so unnecessary”.
‘Exotic’ is such a vague term, that to me it is more often (when you hear it on a recurring basis from old/drunk/generally unappealing men) an insult than a compliment. To the giver of the compliment, its an “oh wow, you are beautiful/stylish/pungent in a way that is not usual to my western idea/ls.” To the receiver, it serves to remind us that we are not considered a part of western culture, no matter how we speak, what we wear, or how we smell.
I like the designs of Anand Jon, but to put them on Paris Hilton and have her present them to the ‘Indian elite’ seems as useful as throwing a pair of $10K diamond chandelier earrings on a wild hyena. Purely pointless. Paris, though I tend to feel sorry for her more often than not, is not a representative of American style. She is a representative of American sluttiness. If people in India don’t know her as a socialite/songstress (because of the lack of InStyle-esque magazines and the non-airing of her video on tv) then they probably do know her from her 2 dollar train station-selling DVD. That,to me, seems like a poor style and marketing choice.
P.S. If you can’t understand why ‘Water’ was controversial, think of it in conservative traditionalistic indian terms. Most times it is context, not content that matters.
Really Jai, 4 paragraphs addressing Aishwarya vs. Angelina – you are hilarious =)
By the way, my husband feels the exact same way as you so I’ve heard every “Angelina is hotter than Aishwarya” line there is. But I think I’m more drawn to Aishwarya because I think she covers more of a spectrum. I think she can look extremeley sexy but at the same time demure and gorgeous, like in Umrao Jaan or Devdas. I feel she’s more of a complete woman in that sense and I like that she doesn’t need to have a crazy, wild life in order to pull off sexy. And I’ll give you the giggling thing, but she’s repeatedly said that’s her reaction to things when she’s nervous – and hey, she’s human and allowed to be nervous when on talk shows in another country =)
Also I like that she doesn’t steal husbands 😉
I agree that comments on Anand’s odor should be expunged. Any comments on one’s personal hygiene can be deeply hurtful.
I’m amazed how people who’ve met Anand have found him to be unpleasant. Wouldn’t any celebrity give you the brush-off and be unpleasant if you tried to talk to them. Why pick on Anand?
Anands a celebrity?
Anyway, i met him maybe more than 10yrs ago so whatever fame he may have now he didn’t have then. But i think you almost hit the nail on the head. the famous are obviously always being bothered by people in public therefore a brushoff is understandable. so i interpret anand’s unpleasantness as way of creating the illusion of fame…as if he can’t enter a restaurant without being noticed. fake it till you make it, they say.
No Pratik, celebs and their actions are defined by their reactions to the public. working in PR, I can tell you the truly professional ones do respect the fact the fans want to meet them. After all, you are only as good as your fans. And with the power of blogs and press, you wouldn’t want to offend someone who can rant to the world. Perhaps the golden rule of marketing applies: a good story gets told to 3 people, a bad one to 15. An unnamed South Asian actor in Hollywood promised to send a kid a signed DVD of his latest flick. He never delivered. Needless to say, the kid is now running around telling everyone how he’ll boycott his movies.
That’s your opinion, based on your experience. Mine is different.
I was told that I am considered exotic in India. So it has nothing to do with “western ideals”, in that context, rather, it would be “indian ideals” in that situation, I guess. I took it as a compliment because the way in which I use the word “exotic” is not negative, hence I perceived the comment in a non-negative light.
Aiswarya looks good in all the pics provided, yet I still find her stiff and un-sexy.
Not sure about Indian beats on her next album, as I’m not sure she knows a guitar from a grand piano. However, I am sure that we’ll be treated to many sound bites pertaining to her fondness of and expertise on Indian culture. Wait for the generalisations and stereotypes to start flowing.
Some of the goons who were breaking up the sets were shouting “Ganga Maiyya ko Water kehti hai??!!”, indicating that they had little clue as to why they were doing all that.
The controversy was mostly political. The Hindutva part of the political spectrum felt it was portraying Hinduism negatively (never mind that what was shown in the movie was the truth at that time). It could not possibly be mass displeasure because the urban population today (I don’t want to include Varanasi itself) would be in general agreement with the perspective of the moviemaker regarding what widows may do. That may still not be the case with the villages, but the protests were all in cities. The way the ticket sales increase after these protests, I would myself engineer some protests if I were making a movie 🙂
Whatever photos I saw of the protesters were all of males. So that says something right there in and of itself.
That being said, if they actually saw the movie first, I doubt any would have protested.
If you remember, Deepa Mehta’s previous film was about lesbians, and it really got under the skin of the Valentines Day Shop Smashers — and so they had her as a target because of that. So when they learnt she was setting a movie in Varanasi about another ‘sensitive’ issue about Hindu life, they went apeshit. Hired a few goons to smash up the set, make death threats, the usual stuff.
Sonia Kaur,
Angelina always deserves a thorough
workoutresponse 🙂Aha, but you see Sonia bahenji, there’s a difference between looking extremely sexy and being extremely sexy (even though there may often be an overlap between the two).
I think we’d better agree to disagree. This is probably just a male perspective vs. female perspective thing 😉
I also think I’ve done my bit to defend Angelina’s honour, so I’m definitely bailing out of this thread now !
Hey I was the first to state it here and I’m female, so it’s not just a male thing. Aiswarya does not exude sex appeal in the least in my opinion, while Angelina does. And I know nothing of either of their personal lives really, so it’s not about what is portrayed as “wild” about either one of them via the media. I’ve only seen one of Angelina’s films also.
As far as sexy Indian actresses; a. Rekha (at 50 she’s sexier than 20 something bollywood babes) b. Shabana Azmi c. Rani Mukherjee with that raspy voice of hers
Sonia Kaur:
Yeah, I’m with you, Jai Singh. I agree, Aish is a beautiful woman. But I have very little desire to sling her over my shoulder and carry her off to bed and try to get her to make cat noises. That, to me, is the purest definition of sexy. Angelina, on the other hand, is a crazy wild woman who will leave scars. She’s bad news, she’s hell on wheels, she has tats and wore Billy Bob’s blood in a vial around her neck, but she’s incredibly sexy.
Agreed. I mean, disagreed. =)
Cannot believe y’all…
Nandita Das…anyone??????
Sexy,Exotic,Gorgeous,Alluring,Ooomph factor… NOT to mention Brainy,Intellectual,SocialActivist,Feminist,…
Yeah I think Nandita is sexy too.
Now, what about the men?
JOHN ABRAHAM. Enough said.
Ever watch those old Indian movies where the heros have tons of makeup on and their eyebrows and lips are well defined and they look like flaming heezras? Those crack me up. And they are wooing women who totally fall for them and roll around in haystacks with men who look more effeminate than they do?
Weird. But very nostalgic.
leaves more for me. i bet ash isnt sane when y0u t@ke 0ff her cl0thes…
suraj:
nadita das is awesome.. brains and beauty 😉
Sonia, you don’t know what went on behind closed doors.
May be Brad was just fed up with the Aniston’s career priorities over family. You can not believe all tabloids. Frankly, I feel Angelina and Brad make a cute couple. Aniston and Brad looked more like twins.
rani mukherjee looks horrible sans makeup.. scary… like oprah without hers on… YIKES!
John always looked like a Milind Soman wannabe to me. He seems to be trying to hard…uggh!!
And of course, the strength and stability of all relationships can be based on how cute two people look together. =)
And her voice is horrible! Like she spends all her time smoking … if I ever heard her voice in the middle of the night, I’d be scared. I do think she’s pretty when made up and not speaking though =)
sex appeal and attractiveness is an individual opinion. that said, from my female perspective, i think that aishwarya is more beautiful, but angelina has more sex appeal. and no girl touches bipasha when it comes to sexiness. damn!
re: the “e” word, it’s all about context. when it’s coming up in intellectual conversation, it more often than not comes across as a polarizing term, with all the historical baggage that’s been discussed on this thread. but when talking about boys telling a girl, “damn, you look real exotic,” it’s more of his tone and body language that makes this term acceptable, like if a guy tells a girl that he thinks she’s sexy. if some drunk frat boy yells at you in a bar that you look exotic, it’s probably gonna rub you the wrong way (basically any “compliment” that someone in that mindset says is going to rub you the wrong way). but if you’re some white guy travelling in india and you meet bipasha basu and she says, “you have a really exotic look,” i don’t think the guy’s gonna take it as an insult. the word probably does get more ill use out of it than any well-meaning compliment, but i’m not against the term completely like others on this board.
ps- my cousins back in india use the term all the time (especially the guys) when they see pictures of my multicultural friends, and i know that they mean it to be unconventional (to them) beauty.
I agree…and everytime I hear her, I feel like mailing her some cough drops.
Plus she used to be so chubby. It is good she lost some weight, but I still don’t think of her as attractive.
I’m with you on that Salil.
Sexy = looks like they are good in bed.
Compare for instance John Abraham http://www.coolbuddy.com/wallpapers/indceleb/john22.htm to Anil Kapoor http://www.nowrunning.com/gallery/stills.asp?artistID=117&n=1&cnt=5
Anil Kapoor looks like the dudh-walla in Brahmin Mohalla of Aligarh or Something-or-Other-Pur. One wouldn’t expect those men to be particularly skilled in bed, though who knows? Maybe the Venus Butterfly Technique is not completely un-beknownst to them.
John on the other, looks like he breeds butterflies.
I didn’t say that their relationship was stable at all. Celebrity marraiges hardly are (eg. Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson). But in my opinion, they look cute together. That doesn’t mean that they will be together forever.
My favorite topic…where do I begin.
Anand Jon…
Firstly I find absolutely nothing creative about his work or his designs. They are paltry at best and not well made. I could pick up a ghagra (his first collection had many) out of a local village in Baroda and get better workmanship and originality than the crap he charges $4K for. There is nothing “original” about a line of expensive jeans. For the amount of money you pay at least have the quality and fit like Seven or Citizens. My $30 jeans from the Gap fit my ass far better.
Secondly Jon is going to follow the path of Sandy Dalal. Remember golden boy. Where is he now? The fact that Jon showed at Metropolitan Pavalion for Sp07 and not the tent is a big indication. And packed house as some reports might say. I say more NOT!!
Thirdly (and this is for Pratik Patil)…I’ve met more than a fair share of celebrities and Anand is pretty high up there in terms of just downright rude just cause. He is what I call and unqualified Diva. Paris Hilton earned it. Anand Jon…I don’t think so. He prefers to surround himself with an entourage of asskissers like most divas do but I say it’s justified with JLo but AJ I don’t think so!
FOURTHLY…as if there is such a thing…Paris Hilton lending her name need not immediately guarantee a success. Jessica Simpson crap sells at Wal-mart at a discount now. It’s a perfect example of ‘needless sexy’ image from the “now hot” fashionista doesn’t mean jack. What pulls you thru in the long term is appealing to the average woman, having marketable looks and above and beyond anything else workmanship. When you pay boatloads of $$ for these items the workmanship should be impeccable.
That’s that…
Nor does reporting in magazines mean that Brad did not cheat on Jennifer.
Watch out – I’m a celebrity gossip addict – you don’t want to get me started.
(i’m kidding .. relax)
(not kidding about being a celebrity gossip addict though)
Sonia, it is very debatable. I really donÂ’t think we can judge anyone without knowing all the details and I have heard all different stories about the Aniston-Brad-Jolie saga. I am with Team Jolie on this one 😉
Me tooÂ…I can go for hours and hours about this useless topic.