I’m guessing their subsequent flicks will be doomed to a mediocrity vs. their first movie – Reiter’s Camera Phone Report: Indian student porn MMS video results in expulsions, cellular phone ban –

Two Indian students used a camera phone to film a short porn video, resulting in their expulsion and the banning of cellular phones, according to several media reports, including one in Sify News. Two students in New Delhi — a girl honor student and a boy from a wealthy family — were expelled after they circulated their 2.37-minute film to other students.

Since we were just discussing the merits (or absurdity) of Brad Pitt in a movie about the life of the Buddha, I thought it would be appropriate to point out Halle Berry’s upcoming role as “Vanita Gupta.” From Apunkachoice.com:

Academy Award winner Halle Berry is likely to play the role of an India-born law graduate in America, Vanita Gupta, whose campaign helped overturning the judicial ruling in one of the biggest drug bust cases in the US.

Vanita Gupta is like the Erin Brockovich for the colored people in the Texas town of Tulia where 10 percent of its African-American population was arrested in a drug bust case in 1999, based on the sole testimony of under-cover narcotics agent Thomas Coleman, who was also a Ku Klux Klan member.

Halle Berry portraying an Indian woman, though? Well a short haired Halle does look a little like Arundhati Roy doesn’t she? Well…the face at least. I am quite sure their bodies aren’t as similar.

Sepia Mutiny’s favorite Desi Playboy never ceases to amaze. His movie “One Dollar Curry” opened up this week in Paris to pretty flattering coverage – Sify reports & graciously links back to Sepia Mutiny

“One Dollar Curry” by France-based Indian filmmaker, journalist and writer Vijay Singh takes a comic look at tolerance while lifting the curtain on an exotic side of the French capital unknown to many visitors. … “One Dollar Curry” is set in the French capital’s well-established home of immigrants from the subcontinent, the 10th district on the northern side, packed with grocery stores, restaurants, clothing stores and video rentals with cheap “phone home” facilities, bringing colour and exotic spicy smells to the grey streets. Its star however is Vikram Chatwal, a New Yorker whose family runs a chain of hotels and restaurants in the United States. He plays Nishan, a young Sikh political refugee who hawks curry from a cart in the streets but claims to be related to a line of chefs who cooked for the great names of the world from the Moghul emperors to Winston Churchill and Michael Jackson.

Word on the street is that Chatwal extensively researched the role by dismissing the maid for an evening and doing his own dishes before going to bed.

The Times of India has more.

Previous SM coverage on Chatwal – One More Dream for Chatwal and ON the Trail of Vikram Chatwal

Naveen Andrews who plays an ex-Iraqi Republican Guard soldier on ABC’s Lost, will be co-starring in an upcoming movie titled Easy (as in Sex is, but Love isn’t). From the movie’s website:

Lately, lighthearted stories about single urban chicks looking for love in a world of noncommittal guys flood our newsstands, televisions, and Cineplex screens. EASY confidently rises above the ranks of these romantic comedies, offering a less glossy, more penetrating vision of lovelorn life. Jamie Harris, portrayed with sparkling intelligence by actress Marguerite Moreau, is a neurotic, bright 25-year-old with a career naming peculiar consumer products. Though she gives them their identities, she’s rather confused about her own. After dating a string of jerks, she’s bewildered about whom to trust or how to find true intimacy. When two seemingly honorable men orbit around her, Jamie must confront what she is most afraid of. As in Shakespearean comedies, writer/director Jane Weinstock’s playful, nuanced script adroitly tosses competing desires up in the air, offering audiences the delicious pleasure of watching characters squirm and wriggle before everything falls into place.

…Marguerite Moreau (“Runaway Jury”) portrays the irresistible Jamie Harris. Naveen Andrews (“The English Patient”) is John, a sexy, sensitive and brilliant Anglo-Indian poet.

…The Production Designer was Aradhana Seth (“The Guru”)

After viewing the clips it looks like the movie has some potential. But then again I am a sucker for movies about angst ridden urban chicks.

The full trailer can be seen here. Continue reading →

Ashok sends us this heads up via the Sepia Mutiny Tip Line (a red phone actually rings at our North Dakota headquarters). A new IMAX movie dealing with one boy’s spiritual journey across the landscapes of India is set to be released soon and boasts a cast of 45,000.

On June 29, 1792, Neelkanth begins his journey of awakening. Having resolved to embrace the challenges of nature, he leaves his home in the city of Ayodhya. Neelkanth walks alone into the cold stormy night, wearing nothing over his shoulders or under his feet, carrying nothing – no maps, no money, no food – except inner courage, confidence and a silent spiritual strength. At the Saryu River, he enters the cold, raging current. Neelkanth is swept away, leaving behind all that was familiar.

Neelkanth’s footprints begin to map the length and breadth of India – its dense jungles, fertile plains, majestic mountains, mighty rivers, and peaceful coastlines. Flourishing for more than 8,000 years, this land has been home to an ancient and highly advanced civilization. Neelkanth’s walk would last for 7 years, 12,000 kilometers, covering every corner of India.

I note with interest that the filmmakers have decided upon Ayodhya, which is at the center of all kinds of contemporary bloodshed, as the town where this young yogi comes from. Will the film try to be objective and promote unity, or will it stress the “Hinduness” of India instead of it’s diversity? The film is being produced by BAPS:

BAPS [Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha], an international NGO, has a rich experience of presenting Indian culture to over 55 million people worldwide through its 9 cultural festivals and 3 permanent exhibitions at Akshardham –Gandhinagar and Shri Swaminarayan Temple – London and Nairobi. As part of its continuing activities, In early 2001, BAPS decided to make a film that would show the true wealth of India – its culture, its heritage and its wisdom. To make the film more interesting and take the audience into it with a story, it was decided to present India through a unique inspiring person – Neelkanth. This would give the opportunity to present a docu-drama rather than a documentary.

As all IMAX movies, this one promises to be visually stunning. A preview of the film can be viewed here (although the link seems to be temporarily down).

Rediff.com is reporting today that film distributor Miramax has postponed the U.S. release of Gurinder Chadha’s "Bride and Prejudice."

The film is now scheduled to open during the second week of February, moving from its original release date on Christmas. The change is bad news for the film, because it essentially pulls it out of contention for most major awards.

On the bright side of things, the postponement offers potential viewers an extra couple of months to read the film’s source material, Jane Austen’s "Pride and Prejudice." For some of us, it provides an extra two months to think about maybe buying the Cliff Notes, but eventually relenting to a similarly-priced bottle of Thunderbird.

Rediff.com: Bride and Prejudice’s U.S. Release Postponed
Sepia Mutiny: The New York Times on Bride and Prejudice

Continue reading →

American actors in Bollywood find it famously disorganized and star-centric (the Brit actors in Lagaan complained bitterly):

[T]he industry is chaotic, in part due to film-makers being secretive about films and where they are shooting, in order to avoid others stealing their ideas. There are no call sheets, no shooting schedules and no shooting scripts. Crew are rung up the night before. In India labour is cheap, but there is a lack of organization; it is the biggest organized chaos in the world.

American actors in Japan think it’s spookily efficient and down-to-earth:

Shimizu looked at us, smiled and said, ‘Okay.’… Then I turn around and notice that the camera tracker’s already moved, the camera has shifted and everyone was already in place. It was the most efficient crew I have ever worked with.”… “For actors, the American film system is medieval. You’re either working and coddled or unemployed and ignored. But in Japan actors are just another member of the crew…”

But there are a couple of things both cultures agree on, the muharrat…

“In Japan, there is always a purification ceremony to ensure safety of the filming and the crew,” says Ichise. “We also pray for the success of the film…”

… and the shoes:

“There’s something wonderful about everyone paying their respects on the set by taking their shoes off when they enter,” observes [Sarah Michelle] Gellar.

‘Mera joota hai Japani, phir bhi dil hai Hindustani.’