Commenter “Midwestern eastender” used our News Tab to tip us off to the fact that the movie I blogged about earlier is now on-line for your viewing pleasure.
Enjoy your weekend and drive safe out there.
Horn OK Please now online
Category Archives: Film
“Don” – Paan + Tae Kwon = Long
Actually, the new Shah Rukh Khan movie Don isn’t as bad as you might expect, given all the negative reviews (for instance). It’s also shaping up to be a box office success.
Farhan Akhtar is probably the most hyped director in the new wave of Bollywood film directors. Though he comes from an old B-wood family (his father Javed co-wrote the script of the original Don), Farhan’s first film, Dil Chahta Hai showed no signs of film dynasty nepotism. Dil Chahta Hai was considered a stylistic breakthrough because of the realistic (well, relatively) plot and its rebellious attitude, and it became an anthem of sorts for the post-liberalization generation. That sense of clarity or mission is missing here: in his remake of Don, Farhan devotes most of his writer-director energy into matching western action flicks, fight-for-fight, and stunt for stunt. On this he succeeds: I liked the first car chase, and I think the skydiving fight scene is probably a first for Bollywood. There is also a certain amount of Kill Bill theatrical viciousness here that’s novel in the Bollywood hero-villain iconography.
What most of the film’s critics have missed, I think, is the basic problem of identity this film symbolizes, a problem which is broader than just this film. Farhan Akhtar seems to be torn between two approaches: on the one hand, he could do a slightly tweaked version of an outdated version of India, from a “disco” gangster movie that wasn’t all that great to begin with. (Yes, I said it.) The upside is you get the warm-and-fuzzy nostalgia atmosphere, but the danger is the mindless perpetuation of the myth of the “glory days” of Bollywood and Amitabh Bachchan, as if we need any more of that. Or: he could make a slick, essentially imported style of action movie, with a few “traditional” songs added to appeal to the folks in UP (the “Mourya Re” and “Khaike Paan Banaraswala” numbers). This film flirts with both but doesn’t fully commit, which shows it fundamentally doesn’t know what it wants to be.
It may be a false choice, but the question continues to nag: will the real, contemporary Indian film aesthetic please stand up? Continue reading
Bollywood Fugly
A very happy one-week anniversary to “Ugly, Ugly, Bollywood Fugly,” a brand-new and already fabulous blog that aims to chronicle and record for posterity the more egregious cosmetic and sartorial effects of Bollywood film. But of course it’s fabulous: Sepia friends DesiDancer, t-HYPE, and Filmiholic are all involved! Just one week and it’s already a treasure trove of gems like the one above. With material like that, there’s nothing else to say… except for the fantastic captions that our fearless hunters-of-ugly have composed. Welcome! Continue reading
South Asian via Africa Diaspora
Ever notice how sometimes there are certain themes in your life? This month it was the theme ‘everything is related to the South Asian diaspora via Africa route.’ Chick Pea’s mother fed me fried mogo w/ tamarind sauce, Yo’ Mom told me stories of her life in Africa as a child, and a friend of mine just got back from a summer social work stint working in the desi townships of Durban, South Africa. I’m very interested in the creation of political ethnic identities in the South Asian diaspora and was intrigued by hearing these stories, and seeing the different diaspora perspectives. 
Appropriately, I saw an early screening of the movie “Catch a Fire” last Thursday, and haven’t been able to stop talking about the movie since. Starring Tim Robbins (as the German Afrikaner oppressor), and Derek Luke (as the freedom fighter Patrick Chamusso), the movie is beautifully crafted, telling the story of a South Africa man who gets caught up in love, betrayal and the fight for freedom.
Catch a Fire is based on actual events that occurred in the 1980s. While Nelson Mandela was locked up for treason in the Robben Island prison, the banned and exiled ANC was engaging in sabotage against the Apartheid government. Patrick Chamusso, on the other hand, had found a job at the Secunda Oil Refinery, the largest coal-to-oil plant in the world. He preferred his simple family life to the underground movements. His wrongful arrest and subsequent interrogation and torture by the South African Special Branch forever altered his outlook and led him to Mozambique where he joined the ANC and received his military training. He volunteered to single-handedly carry out the operation to blow up the Secunda Oil Refinery and as per specific instructions, only property was damaged by the explosion.Robyn Slovo, who is one of the film’s producers, and Shawn Slovo, who wrote the screenplay, are actually daughters of Joe Slovo and Ruth First, pioneer white activists who stood up against the Apartheid government. Joe and Ruth joined the ANC, while in exile. [link]
Maybe I’m just a sucker for movies with men who play roles as fighters against injustice, like The Motorcycle Diaries. Or maybe it’s because in reality, Luke is paying for his on-screen daughter’s real-life education because she is the daughter of an HIV positive African woman. I’m not sure, but both reasons make my heart melt for this story, both on and off screen.
Midget Pakistani zombies in time for Halloween
Just in time for Halloween, SM commeter “Red Snapper” left a link on our News Tab to a new Pakistani zombie flick titled “Zibahkhana” (Hell’s Ground). From the movie’s website:
Five urban, contemporary Pakistani students plan to drive out of the city for an open air rock. On the way they cross some angry demonstrating victims of turbid, diseased water along the way and arrive in an area inhabited by a clan time and technology has long forgotten. Two worlds collide as the city youths take a fatal turn and land up in a quagmire shrouded in evil where the only fight is the one to survive. [Link]
Does anyone know what an “open air rock” is? If so, our next LA meet-up should be an open air rock too. Variety has more on the flick:
“Zibahkhana” (Hell’s Ground) might not be Pakistan’s first horror movie, but it’s almost certainly the first featuring midget zombies and produced by an ice cream mogul.
A co-production between U.K.-based video label Mondo Macabro and Pakistani production company Bubonic Films, “Zibahkhana” is directed by first-timer Omar Khan, a Pakistani film historian and the owner of a chain of ice cream shops in Lahore. Producer is Pete Tombs, an expert on Asian horror and exploitation movies whose Mondo Macabro video label has released such titles as Indonesia’s “Lady Terminator” and “Virgins From Hell…”
“We don’t have songs or comedy sequences, none of the prerequisites of the South Asian film,” says director Omar Khan. “It’s a complete ripping up of what’s expected from local productions…” [Link]
Well thank God for that last promise! Bollywood’s attempts at adding song and dance sequences to horror flicks have failed miserably.
If these film-makers are smart they will slip some incisive social commentary into this film in much the same way that the makers of Battlestar Galactica use a sci-fi vehicle to launch a devastating commentary on the Iraq war. For example, take a look once again at the synopsis of the movie I quoted at the top of the post:
Two worlds collide as the city youths take a fatal turn and land up in a quagmire shrouded in evil where the only fight is the one to survive.
Sounds like parts of the Pakistani/Afghan border to me. But enough serious talk. Let’s take a look at some of the movie production stills shall we?
Continue reading
Brangelina in Trouble? [Updated]
The news wires are all abuzz with desi-related gossip about the couple we love to hate, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
Pitt and Jolie, along with their three children, are in India to shoot scenes for the upcoming movie A Mighty Heart, in which Jolie stars as slain journalist Daniel Pearl’s widow, Mariane. Pitt’s Plan B production company is coproducing the film…Relentless paparazzi coverage of the Jolie-Pitt clan’s visit has led the couple to remain holed up in Pune’s Le Meridan Hotel almost nonstop since they arrived by private jet late last week. [link]
Brangelina starring in The Great Rickshaw Escape
Brangelina in India has created all the frenzy that the Hindustan Times Page Six thrives on. First, we had Angelina Jolie wishing she were filming in Pakistan instead, where Daniel Pearl’s abduction had originally taken place.
Meanwhile, Jolie says she and Pitt are disappointed they are not shooting the film in Pakistan. Security concerns there caused officials to suggest they work elsewhere. So with the exception of a few background scenes shot in Pakistan, A Mighty Heart will be made in Pune.“I am disappointed that we could not shoot the film in Pakistan, a country that I love and have visited three times,” said Jolie in a statement issued on Saturday by Trevor Neilson, an adviser to the couple.
“They talked with people from all levels of the Pakistan Government and there’s certainly no hard feelings. But it became clear that it was preferable to film in India,” Neilson said. [link]
Now, we have Brangelina’s security with an (almost) killer choke hold…
A bodyguard for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie manhandled a British photographer as he tried to take their picture at a hotel in western India, an incident caught on video by an Indian television station. On Saturday afternoon, when Pitt and Jolie tried to leave the hotel, one of their security guards caught a British photographer trying to take their photo, grabbing the man by his neck and verbally abusing him. [link]
And the infamous rickshaw escape…
The couple were chased by photographers, cameramen and reporters, forcing them to turn back after a 20-minute ride that took them past stores in downtown Pune, in western India.[…] Several traffic signals slowed their short rickshaw ride. At every red light, security men traveling in a rickshaw behind jumped out and surrounded the three-wheeler to prevent the media from snapping pictures of Pitt and Jolie. [link]
Oh, Brangelina. Welcome to the motherland. I’m placing bets that the next baby in their internationally adopted clan is going to be desi. Any takers?
Update: You can watch The Attack of the Brangelina Security Guard here! (Thanks, Manish!).
Festivals: One Up, One Down
A quick-hit/public service post concerning two of the major annual events on the American desi cultural circuit. First, the South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) opened last night in New York City, and runs until Sunday. The films and events are taking place at venues around Manhattan; you can buy tickets online or just show up at the door. Here are some film synopses to whet your appetite:
“My Cultural Divide” – A three month visit to Bangladesh becomes a discovery of family and home that runs parallel with the filmmakers attempt to tackle the complex issue of global trade. Accompanied by his ailing mother, he takes us on a very personal journey to bridge the gap between his heritage in Bangladesh and his life in Canada. He connects his politics with his humanity, and weaves together a story that is both thought provoking and touching.
“Driving in India” – There are no traffic regulations and much like survival of the fittest, the biggest vehicle on the road wins unless you’re an elephant. Shot all over Northern India, “Driving In India” is about a sudden and fast-paced economical environment that has contributed to this challenging way of transportation, but it also shows the relentless optimism and humor of the people and the unwavering need to survive.
“A Cry in the Dark” – This film captures an extraordinary succession of abuses of authority and culminates in a horrifying, desperate act. She was an ordinary village girl but the popular movement that rose up in the wake of Thangiam Manorama’s death shook the foundations of a government. Reportedly raped and killed in police custody her death shook the foundation of local government and barely made the world news.
“Quarterlife Crisis” – Dumped on his 27th birthday by his college sweetheart Angel for being indecisive, Neil makes a silly bet that takes him on a wild ride through New York’s singles scene, accompanied by four testosterone-packed imbecile buddies and one crazy scheming New York taxi driver. On these madcap adventures Neil journeys from life choice paralysis to real life manhood. [w/ Lisa Ray and Russell Peters]
…and lots more feature films, documentaries, and shorts. Many of the films are by emerging or first-time filmmakers. Ali at Eteraz has an interview with one of the latter, Shripriya Mahesh.
On a less happy note, we hear from Sarita Vasa of ArtWallah, the decade-old Los Angeles desi arts festival, that the organization and festival are in jeopardy. They are launching an appeal for emergency funding. Sarita writes: Continue reading
Leave the gun. Take the wattalapam.
I like to keep track of the various industries where desis are making an impact, especially in New York City. When I was growing up, almost all the news stands were owned by Bangladeshis. Later, Punjabis became a major presence in taxi cabs in the city and gas stations in the suburbs. But the one I missed along the way had to do with Sri Lankans and porn stores [hat tip Manish].
In 1999, Tunku Varadarajan wrote an article for the NYT about Gujarati motel owners that contained the following throwaway line:
Sri Lankans, in case you didn’t know this, run most porn-video stores… [Link]
I did some digging, and the best estimates I could find show only a 10% ownership of the video smut business (I’m not entirely sure that these figures describe the same period as Varadarajan’s article, and they may be low since they came from within the Sri Lankan community). Still, no matter what the numbers, it’s a fascinating history.
The story starts, as all good New York City stories start, with the Mafia. La Cosa Nostra had dominated New York’s red light businesses for a number of decades but finally found their dominance undone by new technology:
Video’s emergence in the ’80s changed the Mafia’s porn role. No longer could the mob dominate distribution by simply running adult theaters and peep shows. Gotti and Basciano allowed businessmen without ties to the Mafia to move into retail stores. Immigrant entrepreneurs, particularly from Israel and Sri Lanka, multiplied X-rated video shops in New York neighborhoods from Greenwhich Village to Queens.
“The days of Mob influence are gone,” claimed a Sri Lankan businessman. “There’s no money in the business for them. Tapes used to be $100 each. Now they’re selling for $3:99.” [Link]
Confusingly, the same source also tells an alternate story, one where Sri Lankans entered the business earlier, working with the Mafia at first:
Sri Lankans worked for the Mafia through the 1980s and moved into ownership when the Mafia left. [Link]
This generates a great image in my mind, almost Benneton-like in its pluralism, of Sicilian and Sri Lankan mobsters working side by side to bring smut to the city that never sleeps. If this is true, a lot of hollywood dialogue needs to be rewritten and desi actors will start to complain that they only get roles as doctors, terrorists or gangsters. Sri Lankan script doctors will have to be hired to write lines like this:
“Leave the gun. Take thecannoliwattalapam .”
Tunak Tunak Takes Over
I found another viral video to add to the list of wackiness (Avon Lady, Little Superstar, Nike) we’ve been broadcasting from here at the bunker (thanks sleepy!). Let me present to you Tunak Tunak Jesus Jesus.
I don’t understand one word of the song, but I’m pretty sure that the the subtitles are not telling me what the song is saying.
Manish did a previous post with other earlier video remakes of the song. It has since caught like wildfire. We have of course the original version by Daler Mehndi, A Japanese game show version StarCraft Tunak Tunak, and even for Razib, a Tunak Tunak Brown. There’s even a Tunak Trailer. In fact, a search of Tunak on YouTube shows 321 videos. What is it about this song that can create this viral epidemic?
I think that it’s time for the Tunak Tunak Sepia Mutiny version to be created. I’ll get the monkeys in the bunker working right on it…
Jagshemash!
So maybe this is a stretch, but surely those who hold that Vedic civilization stems from nomadic people from Central Asia will accept that we desis therefore have a vestigial family tie with Borat, the absurd, allegedly Kazakh TV reporter who’s a creation of British comic Sacha Baron Cohen. As you may know, Borat’s movie, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, opens in a few weeks, after a rapturous welcome at the Toronto Film Festival and at various sneak previews.
The Borat character is quite brilliant, as you can see on any of the video clips here. Of course, if you were Kazakh you might not feel the same way. Unfortunately, Borat had to come from somewhere, and it seems that Kazakhstan drew the short straw. I feel bad for the Kazakhs; Borat tests their patience and sense of humor, and now, with the movie about to open in the US and Europe, the Kazakh government is highly agitated about the prospect that Borat will become their country’s global image. Here’s the spokesman of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry:
“We understand that Borat is a kind of satire, but it is just a pity that Mr Cohen chose Kazakhstan as the origin of his hero,” Mr Ashykbayev told The Times. “As far as I know, he has never been to Kazakhstan, although there have been efforts on the part of some people here to invite him so that he can see what our country is really like.” …
Mr Ashykbayev said that there were no plans to ban Borat from Kazakhstan. But he added: “I hope the companies responsible for screening this movie will show some responsibility and not show it.
“It is quite insulting to the people of Kazakhstan and it may create some accusations from the public against the Government for letting such things come to our country.”
That’s from an article today in The Times, which reports that the Kazakh government is bankrolling a film of its own, Nomad: Continue reading