Our favorite phoren polisee pundit Fareed Zakaria returned to The Daily Show with elegant, desi prep school accent in tow. He gave a surprisingly (for host Jon Stewart) content-filled interview about the Iraqi election, and Stewart let him run with it.
Zakaria gave Dubya plaudits for an inspirational election, lauded the Iraqi Shi’a for their restrained conduct to date, cautioned that much hard work remains and slammed the president for poor execution.
Reviews for “Bride & Prejudice” are starting to trickle in,
and none are more integral to the film’s box office prospects than the
bi-directional thumbs of critics Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper
The verdict? Two thumbs up.
If you weren’t able to watch the show last weekend, here’s a brief recap:
:
Go see this on the big screen. You need to fully appreciate the vibrant colors
and the great music.
: Oh,
I loved it too and I’ve seen a lot of Bollywood movies in recent
years. They combine everything. And I have to admit, Aishwarya Rai has your eyes.
:
Fo’ real?
Whenever Gurinder Chadha waddles into a screening, I can’t help but think
of you.
: Let’s
make out.
: Okay.
Aw’ yeah, how’s that for some romantic diction? Sure, that recap might contain some inconsistencies or entire fabrications, but you get the gist. If you want to hear the real review, click here to download the MP3 (size: 250 KB). It’s worth the time, if just to hear the entertaining pair debate the placement of Rai on their list of most beautiful women in the world. (Roeper has her at #17; Ebert at #1).
“Bride & Prejudice” opens on February 11.
Sepia Mutiny: Fisking the “Bride and Prejudice” campaign; “Bride and Prejudice” postponed to February; The New York Times on “Bride and Prejudice”; Gurinder Chadha on her “Bride and Prejudice”
An interesting premise that seems to have gone nowhere –
SaharaOne’s much hyped show, Kuch Love Kuch Masti, a spin off on the global hit Sex and the City may not live long enough to see its end. The show about three urban girls who have no qualms discussing love and sex started off with alot of razzmatazz. The media and audiences were curious to see if the show lives up to the comparisons made with its foreign counterpart.
When faced with accusations of copyright violations, the show’s producer responds in tres Desi fashion – indignant denial –
When asked about the show drawing inspiration from the global hit Sex and the City, he is quick to claim, “I don’t know why these comparisons are made, but the show is definitely not a take off on Sex and the City.â€Â
Having seen Indian Superman, call me a skeptic. 😉 Continue reading
“With great power comes great responsibility.” So Spiderman’s uncle tells him. Raj Bhakta knows just what Uncle Ben was talking about. From the Vail Daily:
Since starring on “The Apprentice,” local Raj Bhakta has earned some major street credit as a ladies man.
Raj was a special guest doing commentary at the ceremony where Yahoo announced its earnings. Raj was chosen because he had the most hits on Yahoo out of all the characters on “The Apprentice.” He even pinned a bow tie on the CEO.
“A group of three guys, Indian guys – who are not the smoothest guys with women, generally – come up to me afterward and they were asking me, seriously, about what to do to get girls,” said Raj. “Like I know what the hell I’m doing. I’m saying things like ‘pony up’ on national television.”
Ahh yes. I too share in Raj’s pain. What? I have street cred. Fine, whatever.
“I don’t do anything differently than what all other guys are thinking of doing. I just do it. A guy sees Anna Kournikova. Anna Kournikova is a beautiful sex symbol in America. You want to try to take Anna Kournikova out. So what the hell, try.”
In addition to disseminating advice to the young playas out there, Raj would like to continue with his political venture,
His long-term ambition is to serve the people in a political realm, inspired by his successful immigrant parents who have given him a unique perspective into the greatness of America.
“America has one sacred duty to all of its citizens and that is to give them a fighting chance. There needs to be a middle of the road, representing young people – rational people – who believe in small government and freedom. Things that we all hear about that are slowly being stripped away,” said Raj.
The
judge in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial ordered journalist Martin
Bashir to testify as a government witness against the pop singer, despite his
attempts to avoid participation.
From the Sunday Mail:
The TV reporter — whose documentary “Living With Michael Jackson” triggered the investigation against the star — has been called as a “necessary witness” in the trial, which starts (Monday).
Bashir, 42, had tried to get out of giving evidence by citing a law that protects reporters from having to testify about things they see while working on a story.
Bashir became the first desi network correspondent for one of the big three broadcast outlets when he joined ABC’s “20/20” in December. His debut story for the news magazine was an interview with BALCO head Victor Conte, who admitted to supplying illegal supplements to some of the sports world’s most successful athletes.
This year’s trial of the century kicked off today in southern California, and the mainstream press is in the process of wetting itself, because there really isn’t anything else of importance going on in the world.
Sunday Mail: Jacko on trial: Bashir in the box
The Smoking Gun: Bashir a government witness in Jacko trial?
This post is from the files of Mr. ‘Everything Comes From India’ and the chest-thumpingly nationalist father in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
An author who’s a Hare Krishna is penning a tome on how Star Wars was inspired by Hindu myths. In his formulation, The Jedi and the Lotus, the Force comes from Brahma, Yoda and Luke are guru and disciple, Jedi training is yoga and the Jedi rules are the warrior code of the kshatriya.
[J]ust as Star Wars takes place in deep space, most of the battles in the Ramayana take place in sophisticated aircrafts, and Arjuna, too, in the Mahabharata, is said to engage in many battles while in outer space… Ancient Indian myths are perhaps the earliest examples of these world myths, while Star Wars is merely among the most contemporary… I look at George Lucas’ major influences, from Flash Gordon to Joseph Campbell, and how Indian tales form the central core around which his series is modelled.
So much sci-fi rips from warrior mythology (samurai, cowboys), I find it hard to believe a claim of exclusive inspiration, although there’s an interesting argument for the ferengi and Klingons in Star Trek being desi in origin.
The
Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT) screens the work of filmmaker Mani
Kaul on Monday night, and will have the New Indian Cinema trailblazer in attendance
for questions.
Some of Kaul’s more notable films include “Uski Roti,” “Siddheswari,” and “Naukar Ki Kameez.” The 60-year-old filmmaker’s work has screened at festivals in Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Rotterdam and Pesaro, as well as venues such as New York’s MOMA and Paris’ Centre Georges Pompidou.
The REDCAT is located in downtown Los Angeles at the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall. You can kill two birds (if you’re into that sort of thing) with one stone by finally visiting the architect’s recently completed and hotly-debated building.
General admission tickets for the Kaul event are $8, and are available for online purchase.
REDCAT: An
evening with Mani Kaul
Indian Cinema Database: Mani Kaul
It is one thing to translate existing U.S. comics, but this project is truly what we call a “transcreation,” where we actually reinvent the origin of a property like Spider-Man so that he is an Indian boy growing up in Mumbai [formerly Bombay] and dealing with local problems and challenges. I have always believed that the superhero relates to a “universal psyche” already firmly established in India through centuries of mythological stories depicting gods and heroes with supernatural abilities . . .
Though we will remain true to the underlining mythos of Spider-Man, which is epitomized in the phrase “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility,” the character will be reinvented so his powers, problems and costume are more integrated with Indian culture. Unlike the U.S. origin, which is deeply rooted in science, the Indian version is more rooted in magic and mythology.
Actor Sanjay
Madhav recently auditioned for a part in a comedy festival promo,
and was so offended by the sketch, that he shared his experience on Hollywood
Masala’s message boards.
The spot entailed Mohandas Gandhi (not the part that he auditioned for) playing a prank on his followers by ordering a meat-lovers pizza. From Madhav’s original post:
I do have a sense of humor about these scenarios, however this is offensive to many, including myself. When will the non-Indian population realize that Gandhi is to many Indians, what Martin Luther King is to the African-American people. Would they dare make such a mockery of Martin Luther King without public backlash? I think we know the answer to that question.
Wait, I have a different question: What brand of pizza did he order? Since I haven’t seen the promo, it would be inappropriate for me to weigh in on Madhav’s specific complaint. However, it would definitely piss me off if Gandhi was depicted ordering some cheap, craptastic, fast food pizza. I’d like to think that if Gandhi was going to buy pizza for his followers, he would spring for something good like California Pizza Kitchen or Round Table. He was the father of an entire subcontinent — give the man some respect and portray him ordering a slab of the top shelf pie.
Laughs were aplenty during last night’s season premiere of Fox’s “The Simple Life,” when socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie shared their shocking blend of ignorance and helplessness with a no-nonsense desi mechanic.
The reality show inserts Hilton, heiress to the hotel fortune by the same
name, and Ritchie, daughter of singer Lionel Ritchie, into fish-out-of-water situations.
The past two seasons placed the bicoastal, hard-partying pair in a small farming
town, and on a road trip through rural America. The current season assigns them
internships in a wide range of fields.
Hilton and Ritchie’s first job landed them in Bayonne, N.J., where they were assigned the seemingly easy tasks of changing oil, customer service and moving cars at Quality Auto Center. Under the supervision of Ketan, the pair showed up late, crashed into cars, alienated customers and stole a police cruiser.
When it came time to evaluate their performance, Ketan gave them appropriate
marks:
Customer service: F
Changing oil: D
Appearance: “A for that, for sure.”
“The Simple Life” next airs on February 9 at 8:30 p.m. on Fox.