Category Archives: Arts and Entertainment

Is Norway the new Bollywood?

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No, but the Scandinavian country of 4.5 million people is pumping out South Asian entertainers at a fantastic clip.

Last week we read about, heard, and ultimately shredded the musical offerings from Norway-born Deeyah. This week we present actress and model Negar Khan, who was born in Iran, but raised in Norway, and considers the country her home. You’ve probably never heard of her, but she has appeared in several music videos and starred in Bollywood films as an “item girl.”

Khan’s name was on everyone’s lips yesterday when the industry learned that she was deported from India for allegedly working without valid visa documents. From Indo-Asian News Service:

Police officials said Khan had been working in India without a proper work permit and that she had refused to respond to repeated notices sent by authorities on the issue.

“We sent her a notice one month back but she didn’t respond. She was working here without proper documents,” Mumbai Police Commissioner A.N. Roy told reporters.

Bollywood reacted with shock to the sudden deportation of Khan, terming the treatment meted out to her as inappropriate. “The manner in which she has been deported is absolutely indecorous,” said leading filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt.

But were the reactions of shock just another bad Bollywood acting job? It appears that the deportation of Khan is part of an effort that was prompted by peers who were tired of losing jobs to outsiders:

Police officials said Khan’s arrest and her deportation was part of a larger crackdown against foreigners working in India’s film and advertising industry without valid papers.

They, however, did not say if any other film personalities were facing a probe.

Indian actors and models have for long been complained that non-resident Indians come to India on tourist visas and pick up plum projects.

Today’s temperature in Oslo is expected to hit a high of 32 degrees. This marked the first time that it sucked to be a Khan in Bollywood.

IANS/Yahoo!: Negar Khan deported for visa breach, industry stunned

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Aishwarya Rai on the Late Show

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Some positive reviews are coming on of TMBWITW Aishwarya Rai’s Hollywood debut in Bride and Prejudice. And to promote Bride, which opens in NYC/LA/and Washington D.C. on February 11, and in the rest of the U.S. in the next couple of weeks, Ash seems to be making the rounds. First 60 Minutes, then her appearance on Nightline, and now, well actually tomorrow, Tuesday Night, she is going to be making an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman. I hope Letterman’s heart can take it. Actually, I think it will be quite amusing to see how Letterman deals with Ash on the show. The film will have its glitzy red-carpet premiere tomorrow in New York as well.

Additionally some reviews of the film have been trickling in, and most have been kind of positive, especially with regards to Aishwarya’s performance. Ebert and Roeper gave Bride two thumbs up, and Peter Travers from Rolling Stone (who BTW mistakenly list Kareena Kapoor in the credits instead of Namrata Shirodkar–whose performance exceeded my expectations) proclaims

“Rai is a world-class hottie with talent to match, as she proves in her first English-speaking role. Pity pretty boy Martin Henderson (The Ring), who plays Darcy, the American in love with Lalita despite the prejudice of his hotel-magnate mom (Marsha Mason). He looks lost in his scenes with Rai. Like a kid driving a Rolls, he’s out of place and outclassed.The script unravels as it moves to London and Los Angeles and stuffs in new takes on Austen’s characters. But Chadha, the shrewdie, keeps the movie alive with swirling color, music and movement. The songs are deliciously silly, especially “No Life Without Wife,” which Lalita and her sisters sing in mockery of Mr. Kholi (a scene-stealing Nitin Ganatra), the bachelor who wants a bride for his new L.A. home. Purists who think Austen will be spinning in her grave will be wrong. She’ll be dancing.”

I think Travers was right on, but more than that, I think Bride highlights Chadha’s directing ability. You may say the film is nothing more than a kitchy musical ode to Bollywood, and essentially that is what the film is, in spite of its amazingly witty dialogue and charming song and dance numbers. However, when you begin to compare the performances given in Bride by Ash, and by Namrata Shirodkar, from those typical to a Bollywood film, to me it was as if they were transformed from being just pretty faces, which they definitely are, to people who I wouldn’t hesitate to call actresses. And I think that must be attributed to the director, or some really, rally good acting lessons.

I found the film thoroughly enjoying, and will definitely be seeing it a few more times. You should too. And don’t forget to check out Ash on Letterman tomorrow. Continue reading →

Porno for Goopers

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‘GOP Babe of the Week‘ Govindini Murty also starred in a student film called San Pedro in 2001. Murty may otherwise be quite intelligent, but this potboiler is howlingly bad. Slamming a student film? Fish in a barrel; but the director, Murty’s husband Jason Apuzzo, graduated from USC film school, Stanford and Yale, so the movie shouldn’t be as awful as it so eminently is.
 
Murty, playing a hotel maid, flashes a lingering cleavage closeup at 24:31, a truly atrocious Latina-meets-Borat accent soon after. Then the script hurls this gem, a bumbling, literal translation of an English idiom that no Spanish speaker would ever utter:
‘He might want his statue back so he doesn’t get into agua caliente!’
… followed by:
‘It is a real statue. It has the ancient Chinese key inside.’
Ah, so: ancient Chinese secrets, that deus-ex-I-Ching. Yes, it really is that bad. The plot is pure Republican porn, putting forth a Vince Foster-esque conspiracy theory involving Men’s Wearhouse pitchman Al Gore:
On the final night of the 2000 Democratic Convention, a hard boiled bounty hunter must recover an ancient Chinese statue, and clean up a trail of big money that threatens ‘bad buzz’ for Al Gore. But when a sexy immigrant maid stumbles onto that trail first…

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Bombay Talkie opens in Manhattan

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Bombay Talkie, a new chaat-plus-entrees place that sounds like an upscale version of Kati Roll Co., opened recently in Chelsea. It shares its name with the novel by Ameena Meer. The NYT says:

The menu plays with the conceit of Indian street food, and so appetizers are listed as “street bites.” Entrees appear under the heading “from the roadside.” Side dishes are from, well, the “curbside…” Bombay Talkie is in many ways a neighborhood joint in an especially pretty dress, designed by Thomas Juul-Hansen…

… then of course there are the cocktails, which, I’m told, take their names from Bollywood movies… What are the temperature, tinge and taste of “unrequited love”? It is cold but not frigid, transparent but vaguely green, and extremely potent, thanks to modest measures of lime juice and saffron syrup in a sea of Bombay Sapphire gin.

The place has a dark sense of humor:

Brunch has a theme they’re calling The Return of the Raj: teas, tea sandwiches, pancakes, hams, fresh preserves….if not trickle pie.

Kati Roll Co., a tiny, long-time Greenwich Village favorite, has a rotating selection of classic Bollywood posters on the wall. And speaking of the designer, I haven’t figured out yet why the Dutch are so into desi kitsch. I’m not complaining.

Bombay Talkie, 189 Ninth Ave. between 21st & 22nd St., (212) 242-1900

M.I.A. looked directly into my eyes!

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MIA.jpg

Last night I went to the Knitting Factory in Hollywood to check out M.I.A. (who we have profiled here before). Admittedly, I was not familiar with the lovely Maya Arulpragasam’s music BUT I am a fan of live music as well as beautiful women. I was a little bummed before the concert because all my friends had bailed on me and I would be going all alone. I resolved to turn tragedy to triumph by getting Maya to take pity on me and allowing me to be a groupie after the show. On my way to the venue I got a call from my friend Sanjay who was one of those forced to bail on the evening. I told him it was okay and then informed him of my new plan to win her sympathy. Then he told me something that would plant a seed of doubt into my subconscious and eventually ruin my night. Sanjay told me that if I got to meet Maya I should ask her why her website has a link to an organization (TRO) associated with the LTTE terrorist organization. Was Maya a Tamil Tiger sympathizer? “Boy, don’t you know that would completely ruin my game?” What? Could I be like, “Hey Maya…um…I think you are so very pretty and talented and I’d like to get to know you better…umm…do you support terrorism?”

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A Mushie memoir

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Ever mindful of his legacy, the current dictator of Pakistan is ordering a soppy political memoir ghost-written about how he looked deep into the eyes of Dubya and saw a man he could do business with:

President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan is writing a political memoir, focusing on the war on terrorism and his relationship with the Bush administration as a key ally. The memoir is to be published by Simon & Schuster and will probably appear in bookstores next fall…

No word on whether it’ll bear any resemblance to Shame, Salman Rushdie’s jagged satire of Pakistani politics with a paper-thin fictional veneer to protect the guilty. Here’s what it will cover:

“He’s going to cover the war on terror from Afghanistan in the 1970s and 1980s up to the hunt for Osama bin Laden…”

Mr. Musharraf, writer’s block doesn’t last three and a half years. How about penning the ending to that story?

‘The Kumars’ video clips

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Video clips for The Kumars at No. 42 have now been posted. I liked the sketch format of Goodness Gracious Me better, but the interviews generate an interesting tension: being in character means you don’t have to lob softballs like Leno. Sanjeev Bhaskar’s running gag is to wear the most outlandish outfit possible. And Meera Syal’s granny character is just wicked:

To Helena Bonham Carter: In this country you are seen as the epitome of elegance and good manners. But I personally was very, very happy to see you in Fight Club playing a right old slut. Did you enjoy it?

To a female fashion consultant: Can I just say thank you on behalf of my grandson. That’s the first physical contact he’s had with a woman since he went to the doctor.

To an interior designer: If you want to do an Indian theme party properly, you have to put plastic over your sofas, lots of Tupperware in your fridge and preferably concrete over your entire garden.

I loved the Tom Jones and Helena Bonham Carter interviews. Check out the clips.

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Deeyah Has a “Plan of Her Own”

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Deeyah, the Norway born Asian female, who the Sunday Times (UK) has labelled as “the next big thing,” released her debut single “Plan of My Own,” this past week, to rave reviews. “Plan” can best be described as a blend of sultry r&b with a bit of desi mixed in for good measure. The track has been getting tremendous play on Desi radio station, mainly in the UK, for at least 6 months, and hopefully, the mainstream will catch on, as they have with Raghav and Jay Sean.

Deeyah recently completed a tour this past June & July, and has spent the past year working with producer, Darin Prindle, who has worked with the likes of Destiny’s Child, TLC, Madonna, Jermaine Dupri, Boyz II Men and Usher. This past August, Deeyah split her time between L.A. and Atlanta in the USA shooting the video for “Plan” award-winning director, John Lindauer whose past clients include Lauryn Hill, Mary J Blige, and Christina Aguilera.

So keep your eyes open. For more on Deeyah, click here, to hear the single (mp3), click here, and here for the video (Quicktime). Continue reading →

A way with words

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Drum roll please…and the 2004-2005 Poet of the Year award goes to…Indian poet Saleem Saim. As reported in Outlook Inida:

Noted English poet Saleem Saim has bagged the coveted “Poet of the year 2004-05” award, with a purse of 20,000 dollars, of the US based International Society of Poets. His poem, “Kept apart“, topped a list of some 5.1 million entries from across the globe and Saim has also been given a book publishing contract for his anthology, “Feeling”.

According to a letter from the Society, Saim’s induction as the best poet and award ceremony would be held in Orlando, Florida from February 25-27 this year.

Around 4,000 poets are expected to participate in the convention where Pulitzer Prize winner W D Snodgrass will present the grand prize.

The fact that he is a PhD in Chemistry and school teacher in Moradabad has not stopped Saim from honing his penchant for English literature and poetry.

See. Science geeks CAN have a way with words.

“I feel poetry as picturisation of one’s feelings thoughts, moods and sentiments,” he said adding it was the best medium to clean society of corruption and induce it towards love and humanity.

But wait. Is this all a scam??

Apparently Saleem wants to know as well. At least one person responds:

You are more likely to be declared a Saint by the Catholic Church than you are of collecting that $20,000.
Steven – Tucson, Arizona U.S.A.

Nobody said the life of a poet was easy. Continue reading →

Gandhi didn’t wear Armani

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A Telecom Italia ad uses the image and words of Mahatma Gandhi to shill mobile phones (via the Acorn). The ad, directed by Spike Lee, took first place in the Epica European advertising awards.

The ad reminds me of the Apple campaign which used Gandhi and his spinning wheel to sell Macs. Or, as Salon put it:

Gandhi was no pitchman

[He represented] the idea that… by renunciation you conquer. So it is bizarre to use him to sell products. When he died, all his belongings — toothbrush, Bhagavad Gita, loincloth — fit inside a couple of shoe boxes… he even tried to fight against the religious brands — his prayers each night came not just from the Hindu scriptures, but from the Gospels, from the Koran. He was assassinated by a fanatic Hindu precisely for his lack of brand loyalty… Gandhi, in other words, was the chief spokesman against the consumer mentality since Christ…

I wonder whether Gandhi’s heirs authorized the ad, or whether he’s enough of a public figure that his image is in the public domain.

Watch the ad.

Update: Here’s a previous post about Gandhi being used to sell pizza.