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. “OHHHHHHHH no!! Out of a billion plus south Aisans, some of them are not doctors and are in gangs! What are we going to do?”

    If you acquire an extremely macabre sense of humor, all the previous comments will in some way be rip-snorters.

    I sincerely hope the movie has no “8-Mile” style “the tension is building” scenes (Tennyson-deavullup-arrathithe scenes).

  2. Jasmine, I agree with you, but where do you draw the line? I mean I saw utter lack of respect for the most basic sikhi principals. Although I have my hair cut I found it disturbing that folk were in the LangarDinner Hall had their shoes on and no head gear. And plus nobody doing any ‘seva’ instead kitchen staff helping out and doing everything, whilist leaving all the dishes on the table after they finished eating. I understand we must progress with the times (i.e. abolish caste system and all the good stuff) but at what cost? Infact, I find more ironic is how quick people are to defend the tables and chairs issue but don’t understand a word upstairs in the kirtan. Some of the people need to get their priorities right. Then why not start installing benches ala-churches in the darbar itself? Those bibis should learn to spend time upstairs instead of gossiping downstairs in the langar hall anyways.

  3. I agree with you too ShallowThinker.

    murali:

    But London, in my own opinion, has a better developed desi organized crime scene

    As far as I can tell Bobby is the only other Londoner here. Neither of us are passing judgement on the Canadian desi gangs, so I’d appreciate if people wouldn’t just assume London is rife with brown gangs, some of the stuff said about London on this thread is real bunk. I’m sorry, no matter what desi boys would like to think, there is no significant brown gangland activity in London. As Bobby illustrates above, whilst I’m not denying Asian CRIME, it does not tend to be what we typically think of as gangsters. They are huge fraud rings uncovered regularly and shifty middle-aged Asian fellas are frequently involved. Indeed one of the areas mentioned above is where I lived and still work and home to plenty of Tamil hardliners who I’m sure raise money for the LTTE. A film about this sort of thing would be boring. Gangster films are supposed to be about drugs, poppin caps, car chases, offing those damn five-Os and meeting your maker in a hail of bullets.

    This thread was supposed to be about gangster films, remember?

  4. As Bobby illustrates above, whilst I’m not denying Asian CRIME, it does not tend to be what we typically think of as gangsters. They are huge fraud rings uncovered regularly and shifty middle-aged Asian fellas are frequently involved.

    oh, arbiter of what is truly gangster in life, can you please explain to us victims in the gallery on what exactly isn’t gangsterish about organized illegal activities?

    As to fund-raising (and procurement), i’d think that the life of KP would make a very exciting international gangster movie. Granted, his instruments in London are on the extreme end of this network and it could very well be the least exciting end.

    I guess i’m just not down with a strict rubric for gangster movies when the terms’s deployment in everyday language (in the US at least) connotes far more than petty crime and armed violence.

  5. Meanwhile no tamil i know can understand her lyrics or care for her so called “agenda”. That is a topic on its own though. I might just get banned for this last statement alone.

    You know what I’m asking Santa for this year? That we get to add “I might just get banned/watch me get banned/I know I’ll be banned” to ban-able offenses. It’s petulant, melodramatic and annoying. We don’t ban for just anything, so please stop implying that we do.

    Not all of us have the luxury to sit in starbucks with an apple laptop and be judgemental towards all those who are not doctors, lawyers, computer engineers.

    People with apple laptops go out of their way to NOT go to starsucks (hello, $$$ wifi and shitty drinks)…and many of us aren’t in the fields you describe. What did apple ever do to you, that you would tar it so? 😉

  6. speaking of which Brong Breaker…

    Satya – is my favorite indian-gangster flick. Bikku Matre (Manoj Bajpai) PWNS mumbai!

    I didn’t like Company that much. And then I watch Shool – Bajpai again but this time he is on the other side of the law as Inspector Partap. Amazing acting. IMO one of the most underrated but critically acclaimed actors in bollywood today. All of his movies are amazing. With that said I’ll also say Pinjar is way better than Partition.

    Sarkar – was eh.. didn’t care for this either. Well 2 characters really impressed me in that Kay Kay’s character and Silver Mani (i would watch this movie again just for his dialogs and the fact southern indian music plays everytime he enters.

    Having read both Shantaram and Sacred Games, they are great books, I dont know how well they will translate into movies. I think Shantaram the movie is doomed. Too many high-expectations but there are talks of “bollywood dance numbers by shah rukh khan” what the hell? I thought it was supposed to be Chunky Pandey, and Amitabh as Kader?? Bah? If this doesn’t boost his ego through the universe i dont know what will. I can just picture his over-hamiing of english phrases to linbaba!

  7. Relax murali, no need to get so sarky about it. Abhi clearly posted a tongue-in-cheek comment saying about time for a desi American Gangsta movie (note, not an INDIAN gangster movie, there are plenty). What ensued was a discussion about illegal underground activities. I was just trying to relate back to the original point. Examples of successful British gangster movies are Lock Stock, Get Carter, The Italian Job, Snatch, Brighton Rock, the Long Good Friday, the Krays, Sexy Beast or perhaps Gangster No. 1 (no, not a Govinda special). All I’m saying is putting Asians in these types of films would be laughable and unrealistic.

    I agree, KP sounds like an interesting chap, as is Dawood Ibrahim who was mentioned above. But a film about how these international shady characters raise money for terrorists/ship stolen goods would be more appropriately labelled a crime caper/thriller, don’t you think? Gangster movie implies something else, especially in the context of immigrants.

    I only make this distinction because I find it pretty lame how a lot of Asian lads seem to have a chip on their shoulder about their community being seen as ‘soft’. e.g:

    Sometimes you need to break bones and let them know who they are dealing with. Such is the case with Tamils in Toronto, nobody dares messes with them, because they know the outcome. And who knows maybe one day these “Gangster-Desis” will one day help out your law-abiding-flag-waving-model-minority-parents, when they being harnessed by some ignorant racist americans.

    Who gives a sh*t? Surely we’re mature enough to realise it’s an undesirable stereotype for an immigrant community to be associated with gangs?

  8. Those bibis should learn to spend time upstairs instead of gossiping downstairs in the langar hall anyways.

    Lookatme, see, I would say that those bibis have the right to do whatever they please, instead of being admonished by self appointed mullahs who cheerfully chow down what they are cooking up whilst “gossiping” in the langar hall. I mean, really, haven’t you noticed the massive outflow of work from these women keeps the Gurudwara going? And yet, in BC, I could only find ONE woman on a Gurudwara Committee, in the entire province, and she was the “langar representative”? Spend your energy empowering Sikh women instead of chastising them.

  9. p.s.- where do you draw the line when people start being holier than thou? I mean, why AREN’T you a Gursikh?

  10. What ensued was a discussion about illegal underground activities. I was just trying to relate back to the original point. Examples of successful British gangster movies are Lock Stock, Get Carter, The Italian Job, Snatch, Brighton Rock, the Long Good Friday, the Krays, Sexy Beast or perhaps Gangster No. 1 (no, not a Govinda special). All I’m saying is putting Asians in these types of films would be laughable and unrealistic.

    so, what do you suggest? What kind of movie could accurately and faithfully portray the criminal (indeed, not laudable) activities of Desis ’round the world, while keeping the audience from nodding off into their fake butter and diacetyl pop-corn? Would you advocate a Van Wilder-ish treatment? (snark in cheek…i keeed!)

    Who gives a sh*t? Surely we’re mature enough to realise it’s an undesirable stereotype for an immigrant community to be associated with gangs?

    Well, because sometimes, yelling, “Black man and a white woman living together/face the facts fascist perpetrators!” at a would-be assailant doesn’t have quite the deterrent effect as two decades of American popular media portraying people of your ethnicity as inveterate, violent criminals.

    it’s still bad image-wise, i agree, to have that association come up when people see you.

  11. why am i not a gursikh? Why? because I like to drink, fuck sluts, and do bhangra! And these things are not in-line with gursikhi.

    Bong Breaker you live in a very sheltered community. Grow up, like i said not everyone grew up with degrees and aspirations to be doctors. Some people just don’t give a fuck, they dont care about the fact they are tarnishing the image of a model-minority. Thats your job to polish these images for your local reporter and be like “these are just a few bad apples in a community” etc. etc.

  12. Lookatme wow, the disrespect for women isn’t a casual accident; its actually entrenched. Language, man. You’re talking to a lady.

  13. LookAtMe, you miss my point. And your assumption I live a very sheltered community is odd, cos I can’t remember you visiting me. Guess you was too busy “fuckin’ sluts” bro.

    I don’t really care about the image of Asians in the UK; I don’t particularly fit into a racial group. I don’t mind ‘bad apples’ per se. What I can’t stand is middle class affluent teens/20somethings (most young Asians fit into this category here and Stateside) fantasising they’re Tony Montana. They’re so deluded they think this is some noble aspiration. I love gangster movies as much, if not more, than the next guy, but it’s a movie. These idiots don’t realise that kids that genuinely DO grow up on the wrong side of the tracks invariably want a nice life to escape it. A tiny minority – be it Italian, Polish or Indian – turn to crime.

    Now, I could say you’re one of these middle class chumps thinking breakin’ bones is a good idea. But I don’t presume to know what life you lead, so I shan’t. Can you see the difference?

    murali I think you’ve hit a good point. South Asian guys can feel they’re looked upon as an easy target when walking down the street, I get it. Look at the other minorities – black guys are Tupac, Hispanic guys are Scarface, Italian guys are Michael Corleone and the only race as small as us could potentially be Bruce Lee. I just wish instead of desi guys thinking they want to strike fear into their assailant, I’d rather they think “I’ll get rich, buy the damn street and keep the riff raff out.”

    Wall Street vs. Mean Streets. I know which one I’d choose.

  14. sorry i wish there was a better word to describe some of these “women” i’ve been with. 🙁 But I am changing.

  15. wow, well this has certainly gotten off topic! though i agree that the comments of a blog should take a life of their own based on where the interests are and not have to be classified under humor as is being mentioned, but look at me, this is really unnecessary and i don’t see any value being added with these comments. jasmine – i’m a sistah.

  18. sorry i wish there was a better word to describe some of these “women” i’ve been with.

    well, if you have to indicate their identity by putting “women” in quotes, then “transgendered” would be the polite term.

  19. WOW!! “LookatMe” gets to fu@# sluts, while I cant even get laid in my dreams. The last erotic dream I had was about me watching porn and I woke up and just mumbled “Son of a bitch!”

    And the idea of a “Gangsta” Indian movie doesnt make any sense right now because it just doesnt fit into any aspect of American culture. At best it might be an American sub sub sub culture.

    Ask an American to list things you associate with Indian Americans and camel jockey would come up before drug king pin. Although, now that I think about Dr.420 would be a good tv show on HBO or something, much like “weeds” on Showtime.

    On the bright side, if a Indian American can become governer of a southern state, then I have all the faith in the world that a Indian will rule the underground one day.

    There is a huge pile of heroin in Afghanistan and it is waiting to be shot into the veins of the rich westerners and someone has to move it and it might just be that cousin of yours visiting from Pakistan or India.

  20. oooh, I think i have touched a nerve with some of you guys here! But I bet a lot of you had assumptions in your head as soon as you saw Dr. 420’s picture, you probably did put her in that category. I speak of loose women, promiscuous women.. is that better?

    Anyways I digress, I just actually came in here to point out that there are 2 sides to all of these discussions and mind you its easy for you guys to blame the Punjabis/Lankans and claim that they are “ashamed” of their origin, statement which i find totally ridiculous. It might be true in the parts of the U.S. where you some of you are working as IT-consultants because there is not an abundance of a brown population.

    Like I said its easy to sit in a comfortable environments and pass judgments without having to live through certain experiences. And no I’m not a middle-class desi-thug, actually i come from a very poor parents who spent their lives in factories until both were unable to work due to poor-health. Anyways living in a poverty stricken area you are just exposed to a different lifestyle and actually appreciate every little thing you get. And yes at times you do have individuals who are wannabe gangsters, who come from houses with 3 car garages. These guys i have no respect for and they actually get smacked into reality when faced with real gangsters. With them its only a matter of time.

    Criminal organizations do not necessarily have to resort to violence to be recognized. I think most of the desi criminal organizations are bootleggers (from selling knock-off clothes, cds, dvds, calling-cards), real-estate fraud, truck-delivery. They are very low-key but they make their profits.

  21. I speak of loose women, promiscuous women.. is that better?

    not really; but so long as you’re OK with being called a ‘loose and promiscuous’ man, who are we to say anything?

  22. ‘loose and promiscuous’ man

    enjoying a fruit cocktail in the raw, he realized his dangling participle left him vulnerable.

  23. apple laptop and be judgemental towards all those who are not doctors, lawyers, computer engineers.

    Plus a doctor lawyer or compE wouldn’t be caught dead with an apple product at all

  25. On the bright side, if a Indian American can become governer of a southern state, then I have all the faith in the world that a Indian will rule the underground one day.

    will he have to reject his roots and name his son jose to do that? from what i read on sm, that is what propelled jindal to power.

  26. I’d prefer to blame men than ethnicities. 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.

  27. Wall Street vs. Mean Streets. I know which one I’d choose.

    I’d choose Scorsese any day over Oliver Stone. 😉

  28. 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.

    If men are so inherently culpable for all the world’s ills, why hasn’t any woman supported the creation of a female only state?

  29. Plus a doctor lawyer or compE wouldn’t be caught dead with an apple product at all

    I know PLENTY of lawyers who have ibooks. How you like them apples?

  30. I know PLENTY of lawyers who have ibooks. How you like them apples?

    I know plenty of lawyers that don’t even know what an iBook is, nor do they know what MacTheRipper is, nor do they know what H.264 compression is.

  32. Maybe they’re entertainment lawyers?

    Nah, no one so spiffy in DC. My friends who practice that are back home, in CA. 😉

  33. If men are so inherently culpable for all the world’s ills, why hasn’t any woman supported the creation of a female only state?

    done.

  34. If men are so inherently culpable for all the world’s ills, why hasn’t any woman supported the creation of a female only state? done.

    yes,…..and the amazons were reallly peacefull. no wars. no violence….it was all the mens fault…sheesh..

  38. done.

    Maybe someone since 440 BC?

    dravidian lurker == rahul?

    Rahul had more youtube going on, and at least an order of magnitude funnier. If anything, DL = Rahul lite.

  39. Nah, no one so spiffy in DC. My friends who practice that are back home, in CA. 😉

    Of course, the question that begs answering is, why do you take such care to note both the occupation and computer ownership of lawyers, and their respective correlation. Besides, iBooks are out now, the new models are macBook and macBookPros

  40. If men are so inherently culpable for all the world’s ills, why hasn’t any woman supported the creation of a female only state? done.
    I dream of a day when all the women in the world have changed into men and no such thing as woman exists any more. May be, only then will there be no such thing as ‘masculine’. Masculinity is only for grinding women. When there are no women in the world, whom are the men going to grind? They will fight among themselves and get killed. However, some among them will again ask for peace. They will start a movement for class struggle and equality. Men will be naturally lustful and pray to their god for the womb that at some auspicious moment bears a girl child. Men will then dream how, after the birth of that girl, all the men in the world are raping her each moment for as long as she is alive. When that girl gives birth to another girl child, men will be raping her, too. But this masculine dream will never come true. Men will keep seeing this dream, till the time they die one after the other… and thus would end humanity. After all, why should women have to survive tolerating the injustice done to them by men just to save humanity? Let the history of humanity be the history of men’s scandal.

    Taslima Nasrin Author and Activist

  43. I’m sure some feminazis want to.

    Show me a statement where women seriously advocate the creation of an all female state. Of course by calling them “feminazis” you’ve already denigrated any position they might have, I’d imagine you’d call Marcus Garvey a “Afronazi”

  44. HMF, feminist seperatism exits. But before we go down this weird road, what is your point?

    As far as I can tell vivo claimeed “men are generally the ones who kill, rape, rob etc” which is true, and you respomnded to a strawman contruction of this argument: “If men are so inherently culpable for all the world’s ills” and asked “why hasn’t any woman supported the creation of a female only state?”

    at first i thought you were just joking around, but i guess your saying the alledged lack of female seperatism means that men do not commit the overwhelming majority of murders, rapes, theft, etc.” is that your point?

  46. Always count on Manju for disingenuous quoting and sloppy analysis :

    126:

    I’d prefer to blame men than ethnicities. 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.

    The “generally” specifier was included, however the items I bolded are more or less making an absolute measurement “blame men”. Also, I took “environment” to mean some kind of defined physical boundary (town, state country) Looking over the feminist separatist movement, it still doesn’t call for an outright creation of an independent female state, but is actually stronger than I thought existed out there.

    My point is, if data shows men to be the general cause of “f’d up environments”, why hasn’t the feminist separatist movement gained more traction and more widespread support, as it would be logical by every account?

  47. My point is, if data shows men to be the general cause of “f’d up environments”, why hasn’t the feminist separatist movement gained more traction and more widespread support, as it would be logical by every account

    ?

    hmf, this is only logical in the mindset of the kkk, noi, or seperatist fems. but for everyone else we’d find less draconian ways for dealing with problems. But why set up this weird test to disprove vivo point. just pull the data.

    i think you get worked up over your own strawman constructions.

  48. but for everyone else we’d find less draconian ways for dealing with problems.

    Really? One would think that in any situation the best way to prevent from being harmed by something or some group is to remove oneself from the source of that harm. For example, burglars may rob your house – is it draconian to buy locks and install alarm systems?

    the KKK is an outlandish comparison point (not surprising to come from your BS analysis) as the KKK conducted activity out of pure hatred and xenophobia, not out of legitamite concerns of personal safety.

    i think you get worked up over your own strawman constructions

    How is it a strawman? I’ve already quoted vivo’s full statement, and showed how my characterization of the statement wasn’t any tremendous exaggeration of it.

  50. Standard Manju technique. Switch the argument. Seriously you should work for Fox News or the Fox Business Network

    the VERY NEXT LINE:

    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.

    Anyway, I never disputed the claim that men commit more crimes. Again, for your apparent reading impairment:

    “My point is, if data shows men to be the general cause of “f’d up environments”, why hasn’t the feminist separatist movement gained more traction and more widespread support, as it would be logical by every account?”