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]
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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.
Kaante, the bolly remake of Reservoir Dogs, was shot entirely in LA (making it the first bolly flick to do so).
I know this post is partly tongue in cheek, but is there really a significant desi organized crime network in the US ? I don’t think so. Not because we are so innocent, but rather because of the nature of US immigration policy. The closest I can think of are the LTTE sympathetic extortionists in Canada, but most were SL rather than Indian Tamil. There were Khalistani Sikhs, but this too was criminal activity in support of political objectives. I know there are Mallu, Punjabi kids in NY tristate area who like to play the part but is it just posturing/mating rituals or a real criminal enterprise ? In any case I’ll pour out some kal for the desi bhais who couldn’t be here…
I’m not really sure about an organized desi crime network (Unless you count those desi uncles; who after a couple of pegs at a community gathering proudly boast that they haven’t paid any taxes in 15 years) But I’ve heard about one American Indian entrepenuer from the 1980’swho fits the label snugly,
not really Americas related but this is a short clip related to indo canadian gangs
You better pray to the Gangster God that it is better than any of the British Asian gangster flicks, which have universally been truly appalling disasters.
I think the problem with a potential American Desi Gangster film, and without doubt the problem with the British versions, is that:
1) There aren’t really many desi gangsters 2) Desis think they are tougher than they are. Desis aren’t tough guys (this isn’t something to be embarrassed about). 3) There aren’t really many desi gangsters
I realise that points 1 and 3 are technically the same, but I thought it was such a crucial point it stood being made twice. I read a list of British gangs, quite a few of which are Asian (Holy Smokes, Paki Panthers, Bengal Tigers, Shere Punjab, Chalvi Boys…predominantly warring Sikh and Muslim gangs from a decade ago) but the names provoke sniggers amongst brown people, not fear.
The LTTE would make a good subject for a desi gangster flick, but not necessarily ‘indian’. Their drug-traffiking operations are immense, heroin especially..
And remember, by the time the activities of organized criminals are well-known to the media, they’ve usually ended.
Here in Canada, Italian mob activities in Montreal were only made known through publicized busts..
There’s tons of Chinese organized crime here in Toronto but you’ll rarely hear anything about it through the media. Until some of them slip-up and get caught.
“movie called Ashes which comes out next year”
Are you sure? Because from the humble semi-pleading request for funds on the website, I hope it comes out at all.
:It might finally take the “model†out of our minority
why so anxious to have this happen?
:It might finally take the “model†out of our minority
why so anxious to have this happen?
I think one of thinks that makes America great is that there imigration polices means more likely there will not be major desi-gangsters in the United States any times soon. Canada and the United Kingdom on the other hand are different story. They have more then there share of desi gangsters due to the type of desi’s/South Asians they let into there countries.
Here living in Vancouver there have been over 110 deaths of young indo Candians men mostly between the ages of 18-35 since 1994. Almost all of these men have been punjabi jatts and almost all of them had parents who were not very educated and these young men were 1st generation in there family to be born in Canada, or they came to Canada at a young age.
1) There aren’t really many desi gangsters
There may not be many desi street gangsters but there are a few who act on global scale. Dawood Ibrahim
3) There aren’t really many desi gangsters
There aren’t desi gangster of any repute in North America and Europe.
However,
There have been some big hitters in Asia and Middle East.
Not only Dawood Ibrahim (mentioned in comment above), but even Haji Mastan and others from Pashtun Mafia (back from 1960s). The movie “Deewar” was in part inspired by him, and countless other Bollywood movies. When they show a Pathan gangster in all those 70s movie, they are paying tribute to Pashtun Mafia.
clueless:
i do not think kids joining gangs has anything to do with immigration policies of a country. more likely if a parent is isolated from what the child is doing in addition to a host of other factors . My parents are punjabi jatts, and i have a very large extended family of punjabi jatts with varying degrees of education…and i can not say there has been a higher prolictivity to join a gang in my family. i find your comments are tinged with a bit of…”punjabi jatts are generally uneducated.” i think there are many other factors one would need to examine in Vancouver as to why the youth are into gangs…such as the ease of transporting drugs into the country due to the proximity of the american border etc etc.
Shantaram is a work in progress. It would be curious to see the reviews and reflections on this movie (I highly recommend reading the book first – Gregory David Roberts).
If this movie follows the book, it will be the “Indian Gangster” movie. If Mira Nair doesn’t mess up, that is.
There aren’t desi gangster of any repute in North America and Europe.
To have a successful “gangster” proliferate, you need a supportive and somewhat frustrated neighborhood. Bumpy Johnson and Frank Lucas, not to mention West Indian Archie (with numbers) both had Harlem, Gotti had his italian neighborhoods in brooklyn, as did the Italians of old lore, like Joe Bananas and Lucky Luciano.
These mafia support constituents turned towards the gangsters because local law enforcement wasn’t providing enough security and local society wasn’t providing enough opportunity. Young black youth only had the numbers racket.
These mafia support constituents turned towards the gangsters because local law enforcement wasn’t providing enough security and local society wasn’t providing enough opportunity. Young black youth only had the numbers racket.
African Americans dont have the family cohesion and closely held family structure to branch out into Mafia. Immigrant communities are more suited for Mafia.
Damn, is Ajay Naidu’s MO to star in as many movies with a “Damn It Feels Good to be a Gangsta” montage as possible?
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.
well – it will probably need to be preceded by a book set in vancouver or london. There’s the londonstani about the street thugs, and one called ‘daku’ (I think ) set in Vancouver. Also of note, the exploits of RCMP inspector Janwar Singh (this is a funny name).
Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra has been optioned by Jan Chapman (I think). I’m hoping it will be The Godfather set in Bollywood (no songs). That would be a film worth seeing.
man you guys are lame
why do you say that?
Man of No Clue, you are not to be a member of our America-bred pack of model minorities. Get your own model minorities. And stop fawning us. We are already lauded by Americans. Canadians don’t count.
Puli, Bindy Johal.
reminds me of a story joseph jett, the trader who bought down kidder peabody with fake treasury swaps, tells. when the scandel broke, he cowered in this office afraid to leave becuase the press was outside ready to pounce. when he finally mustered the courage he discovered he could walk right past them…as they could not fathom the possiblity that a black man could be such a powerful trader.
think there are many other factors one would need to examine in Vancouver as to why the youth are into gangs…such as the ease of transporting drugs into the country due to the proximity of the american border etc etc.
That is such a lame excuse by the punjabi community to shift the blame, instead of dealing with why so many young men from the punjabi community go into the lifestyle.
My parents are punjabi jatts, and i have a very large extended family of punjabi jatts
My Dad is a Dhillon and My mom is a Dhaliwal, so you can’t be anymore a jatt then me. But nobody in family ever talked about being a jatt.
There aren’t desi gangster of any repute in North America and Europe.
Only those gangsters that are either a) bad (as in not very good) or b) like the limelight are well known.
No one knows the names of all the good and powerful gangsters.
louiecypher,
at SM the definition of “desi” definitely does include Lankans, so the organized crime in Toronto perpetrated by SL tams definitely does count. I was of the impression that it has gone beyond simply funding the LTTE and has become a collection of organizations whose reason for being is the status quo. I think the credit-card fraud arrests connected to an SL Tam working at Newark airport is also of the same trend–SL Tams doing dirt abroad for the benefit of none but themselves.
i had a Kiwi cousin who was a small-time reefer dealer in Uni, but that’s about it. Not like he was breaking any kneecaps for protection money.
amway
Quixtar!
i hereby call for the first indian american animated tv show on organized crime and the impact of modernity – the jattsons.
Dravidian,
Jattsons is hillarious, how about a rock band called flotsam and jatson?
does joseph jatt work in citi’s mortgage-baked securities group?
Here is some gossip that should put a smile on Indian male fans of Piper Perabo.
She used to go out with a Indian guy!! My friend from college had this cousin that was going out with her and he brought her to dinner with all of the family there to introduce her to the family. This was before she was famous though.
And now she is in movies about Indians, cawincidence? I think not.
Once you go Indian, we wont let you go back!!
what is the Indo-Canadian composition? mostly Punjabis. mostly Sikhs? Mostly Jatt Sikhs? Any significant Indian ethnicities other than Punjabis? I know about SL tamils. are most
Sikhs Jatt?
I’m sure Tiger Menon would like you to say that to his face.
Just because the model minority crowd you hang out with in the U.S. happens to be pudding soft, do not assume that all brown men are the same way. I can think of countless examples of desis showing the same toughness and propensity for violence as any other race. Do the events that this site’s name recall ring a bell?
couldn’t care less about tiger menon. tiger memon, on the other hand…
Tiger Menon is actually a malayalee tiger, so be very careful to say anythig to him 🙂
Software consultancies with Fake Resume employees is the single largest organized crime from the sub continent.
Clueless, as I understand it, the biggest gangsters in Vancouver are the Chinese gangs. The Indian gangs are small time drugs dealers who act out a gangster 50 Cent wannabe lifestyle too much. But the problem with your reasoning is, that wherever they go, Chinese immigrants and Chinese second and third generation kids are seen as model minorities, and yet even they have a gang problem. Seems to me you simplify too much. There’s a large Punjabi population in the UK and USA and nothing like the kinds of gang problems amongst them as there is in Vancouver. There are massive gang problems amongst Jamaican immigrants in the UK though, and amongst second and third generation Jamaican youths. But when you go to America, West Indians, who in England have had a stereotype of being associated with yardie gangs, are viewed as a model immigrant grop, hard-working, high achieving, and not associated with crime. A little more complex than your simplistic analysis seems to allow.
giggles Desi-American “gangsters”. The only ones I know of crash parties and don’t amount to a substantive threat.
Trinidad has had some mean Hindu gangsters.
clueless: Frankly, Bobby put it much better than I that your reasoning is overly simplistic. He (i’m assuiming here)makes good points about the Chinese gangs in Vancouver being a much bigger threat than the Punajbi ones.
think there are many other factors one would need to examine in Vancouver as to why the youth are into gangs…such as the ease of transporting drugs into the country due to the proximity of the american border etc etc.
That is such a lame excuse by the punjabi community to shift the blame, instead of dealing with why so many young men from the punjabi community go into the lifestyle
I’m not quite sure how this comes across as an excuse other than the fact that there are other factors worth examining besides your point of: uneducated immigrants = gang problems there is no blame shifting but simply an opportunity to look at all factors and not just the ones brought up by you. see above.
and i am not quite sure what relevance it is that no one in your household discussed being jatt….and so that means you didn’t joing a gang as a result???
where the jalebis at, yo?
was lucky luciano desi? i mean, lucky’s a punjabi name.
I totally agree with Db and Bobby. How can we shift blame from Jatts to some other factors when we don’t even what other factors are playing role in gangster phenomenon?
This article is seven years old but it talks about how there are some gang problems among desi youths in the bay area in California. http://www.indocommunity.us/news7.html
And of course a certain group among the desi community has people going into gangs. I wonder which one.
Punjabi gangs in Vancouver may be small time players, when compare to the Hell Angels and East Asians gangs. But they are much more then the other groups to use violence. Shootings in nightclubs and even in some busy street corner at daytime in front of other people. And they don’t care who see them do it.
Alot of you people who don’t live in Vancouver have no idea how different the desi community is here compare to others parts in the west.
Clueless, that article just shows that there’s some juvenile delinquency in California amongst that group of teenagers and it’s an article from years ago. Compared to the African-American or Mexican gang problem in that part of the world, it’s a puff of air. Now, Vancouver does seem to have a major problem, 100 gangland shootings in ten years is one big big problem, but there is absolutely NOTHING resembling that, not even a millionth of that kind of problem amongst Punjabi youth in California, the UK, or for that matter, Toronto in Canada itself.
Your theory doesn’t explain why this is, nor does it account for the existence of organised crime in immigrant groups and second and third generation immigrants of practically every ethnicity in the world. It doesn’t account for why there is such an entrenched Chinese organised crime problem in Vancouver, in contrast to the belief that Chinese immigrants are even more of a model minority than Indians in America. It also doesn’t explain why there is so much gang violence amongst Jamaicans in England, but virtually none amongst Jamaicans in America. Let’s leave aside the Italians in America, the Polish, Nigerian, Romanian and Russian gangsters in the UK. Your theory is simplistic, to say the least.
Bobby that last article had one key point. Punjabi’s only make up 25% of the bay area desi population and yet they make up all the young men going into gangs. Why are the not they other 75% of bay area desi not having the same problems with young people going into gangs.
Who was the first Punjabi gangster in Vancouver? Trace it back and ask how that life choice became founded there. These things have roots in actions of individuals. Who started selling drugs, tooling up, forming gangs? Who got the ball rolling? That takes on a life and dynamic of its own. Until the 1970’s and 1980’s Jamaicans were seen as a very conservative and law abiding community in the UK. The the yardies started becoming active, bringing cocaine with them, and all of a sudden West Indian youths attached to gangs grew in number. Gangsters are charismatic leaders in the context of urban environments, especially amongst minority group males. Who were the first charismatic gangster leaders in Vancouver? Trace it back, analyse it, see who got the economy rolling.
Bobby there are youth punjabi gangs in London, and even in Toronto there are punjabi gangs.