In search of the great Indian-American gangster flick

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I was at this bar on Friday night and as I ordered my drink I noticed that American Gangster (which came out on Friday) was playing on every television in the joint, including the one behind the bartender. Is video piracy really this rampant? Anyways, the rest of the night I tried to not watch so I could see it in its entirety next weekend. Flash forward to Saturday morning. I was sitting on my couch scratching myself and all of a sudden I thought, “What happened to that smokin’ Piper Perabo from the movie Coyote Ugly? I mean, come on! There has got to be a way to get her back into some film. So I looked her up on IMDB and noted that she will be co-starring in a movie called Ashes which comes out next year. And THAT is where this rambling story finally finds its desi angle:

ASHES follows the story of two brothers from the inner city whose lives are unraveling. As one plummets deeper into mental illness, the other, Ashes, copes by throwing himself into the dangerous New York underworld. Ashes is torn between the family he is responsible for, and the community that consumes him. [Link]

Sepia Mutiny is currently trying to determine if the above drug use was prescribed by Doc 420

Click on the above image for the trailer. The film is directed by and stars Ajay Naidu of Office Space fame as the title character. All I can say is that it is about time there is an Indian American Gangsta film. I mean, the Cubans had Scarface, the Italians had The Godfather, African American’s have Denzel in American Gangter mentioned above. Why the hell has it taken THIS long for a story about the Indian American gangster experience that most of our readers have had at least minor brushes with? I know some of our readers will point to Maqbool as good Indian Gangter film but I ask you, if The Godfather had been only about Don Corleone’s time in Sicily would it be as relevant to Italian Americans? I didn’t think so. And so I eagerly await Naidu’s Ashes. It might finally take the “model” out of our minority. Plus Piper Perabo will be in it.

172 thoughts on “In search of the great Indian-American gangster flick”

  1. How is it a strawman?

    You got from vivo’s statemnt that “men are so inherently culpable for all the world’s ills” and you can’t see a strawmwn? Anyway, what is your point. that men don’t commit the majority of crimes? why not just directly anmswer that woith data, rather than this roundabout seperatist test that you think is logical.

  2. I wonder why men don’t get more criticism as it has got to be more PC than blaming an ethnicity or race. perhaps it should be blaiming a certain ethnicity’s men to be more specific. maybe it’s too hard to do that. maybe people just can’t bear to blame the men in their lives.
    and i think we all know what f’d up environment entails: ie absentee father, crack addict welfare dependent mother who is abusive as well. live in ghetto. perhaps I used “feminazi” too loosely but I can at least say that someone who wants male genocide is a feminazi. marcus garvey wanted a separate homeland through a quick scan of wiki. I wouldn’t label him an afro-nazi. if he wanted genocide then I would.

  3. Most efforts to understand crime have focused on male crime, since men have greater involvement in criminal behavior. Yet it is equally important to understand female crime.

    so you think the existence of femsale crime proves vivo wrong? you are the only person to claim: “men are so inherently culpable for all the world’s ills” vivo used qualifiers, by your own admittance.

    Anyway, I never disputed the claim that men commit more crimes.

    so, what is the point od asking for proof of female seperatism?

  4. Most efforts to understand crime have focused on male crime, since men have greater involvement in criminal behavior. Yet it is equally important to understand female crime.

    the main problem is that men ply women with too many drinks in bars in an effort to improve their game, and these intoxicated women run criminally rampant. as has been mentioned before, punjabi men, especially jatts, are especially known to engage in drinking games, and hence are disproportionately responsible in inducing female crime.

    i believe i have woven together all the “arguments” in this thread that seems destined to wander for 40 years in the desert without ever reaching its destination.

  5. You got from vivo’s statemnt that “men are so inherently culpable for all the world’s ills” and you can’t see a strawmwn

    No I don’t , and I used a full quoting of her statement to explain why. “blame men” and “f’d up environment” are hardly nuanced qualifiers, you conveniently left those out in your original dissection, no surprise though. it’s in line with the way you analyze arguments.

    so, what is the point od asking for proof of female seperatism?

    Because I didn’t even know it existed, but what I am asking is, given its existence, why isn’t there more traction for it since all the data proves to a large degree men are generally responsible for “f’d up environments”

  6. Because I didn’t even know it existed, but what I am asking is, given its existence, why isn’t there more traction for it since all the data proves to a large degree men are generally responsible for “f’d up environments”

    so now you’re conceeding that “all the data proves to a large degree men are generally responsible for “f’d up environments” in regards to crime, and i appreciate the use of the qualifier “large degree.”

    but you’re atill wondering why there are so few calls for female seperatism or a seperate state. Biology? Proliferation of the species? Family? WTF? isn’t this obvious?

  7. so now you’re conceeding that “all the data proves to a large degree men are generally responsible for “f’d up environments” in regards to crime,

    in regards to crime, I appreciate that qualifier, unfortunately it wasn’t stated by vivo in the original comment. but in regards to crime, it’s not a concession if I never disputed it in the first place.

    why there are so few calls for female seperatism or a seperate state. Biology? Proliferation of the species? Family?

    biology? are you saying women don’t have a choice?

    Proliferation of Species and Family. What good are those things if men contribute so disproportionately to the creation of an f’d up society?

  8. What good are those things if men contribute so disproportionately to the creation of an f’d up society?

    women’s desire for free dinners and cheap dates trumps their penchant for law and order. manju, does it need to be made any clearer to you?

  9. in regards to crime, I appreciate that qualifier, unfortunately it wasn’t stated by vivo in the original comment.

    well, here’s the sentance. i report, you decide:

    After all in any f’ed up environment no matter what ethnicity the men are generally the ones who kill, rape, rob etc. you’d think someone would blame men these days.

    anyway, you got yourself all worked up over something that was never said. vivo was just talking about men committng a disproportionate amount of crime, which you agree with. even if you genuinelty read it another way–that “men are so inherently culpable for all the world’s ills”, there’s no point arguing about it since no one is making that claim. hope that explains the mysterious lack of female seperatism to you.

  10. hope that explains the mysterious lack of female seperatism to you.

    Even if I completely misread it, and her statement didn’t cover “society’s ills” rather just “crime” (as f’d up environment is a pretty broad term, which was later qualified) it doesn’t explain the lack of female separatism, in fact, it’d make more sense if female separatism didn’t exist at all, but the fact that it exists but isn’t fully supported speaks to even more illogic.

  12. Men and women are naturally attracted to one another. Hope this clears things up.

    So women are attracted to people who disproportionately commit crimes and therefore create an “f’d up environment” and furthermore so duplicitous they can get away scott-free without incurring any of the blame, forcing visionaries like vivo to proclaim “why not blame men?”

    Following that line of logic why should women only stop at “blaming” men, why not separate from them entirely? Unless they’re inherently incapable of doing so, in which case, God is playing a mean joke on them.

  13. Unless they’re inherently incapable of doing so, in which case, God is playing a mean joke on them.

    or they deserve it.

  15. Evolutionary biology.

    Women’s bodies need d**k and men’s bodies need pm-pm.

    Simple as that.

  16. African Americans dont have the family cohesion and closely held family structure to branch out into Mafia
    Which is exactly why Frank Lucas had his entire extended family from North Carolina come up to NY as a part of his business, and controlled nearly all the heroin in NYC during the late 60s, early 70s. The DEA had no clue it was him because their own racism prevented them from believing a black man could do what the mafia had failed to do, that is, purchase direct from the source in south east asia.

    Some African Americans may have the cohesiveness to form a mafia like structure, but it’s true that most of the current generation does not. Same goes for most whites these days as well.

    Immigrants from countries with “strong family values”; your time has come.

  17. Immigrants from countries with “strong family values”; your time has come.

    don’t forget republicans.

  19. I tell you this much, from the standpoint of THIS African American, whether subcontinental or stateside, the continental East Indian Underworld is no joke from what I came across!Seriously, from what I hear Dawood Ibrahim alone and with his D-Company makes the Cosa Nostra look like prep school wimps/CHUMPS!!! Oh sure, I know you want, deserve and hope to see Indian born hoodlums/thugs(Thuggee were THE Original Crime Lords) on the screen since other groups have had the priviledge to glorify their hoodlums! It seems to be interesting to me too! But hay, in a pathological, sociological, crooked Horatio Alger upward mobility ladder sort of way-your continental cousins go neck-to-neck with the best of them! Getting back to Ibrahim, there is a movie out partly based on his exploits/life? What-is the name of it? Man, I would like to see it!

  20. I am sure there are plenty of crooks where this man came from. Anywho, though people understandably do not like the model minority, reconsider the potential deification of being too tough. Would not want to be seen as a problem-criminal minority! Not to say the former is easy,-OR THAT ASIANS HAVE HAD IT EASY- but if you do not like it-you definitely will not like the latter since it will not go away easily. Once individuals/groups/people get bad reputations they rarely ever go away. All us minorities need to find a happy medium between the two!

    Anyway, like I always suspected, people poor prefer upward mobility(even if they have to use criminal activities to move up) to being tough for the devil of it!

  22. desi people need not to brag about the crime life their desi partners living. we all gotta eat by the end of the day.some prefer to live large. i am not sure about us but in canada desis run shit when it comes to drug trafficking , violent crimes,and such.goto http://www.nriinternet.com and then click on nri drug you will see what iam talkin about. REAL TALK. it is just high school kids menatlity to big up their fellas always tryin to prove how tough their community is. lol