Browsing: Disney

It entailed a helicopter ride from Washington, secret service personnel and caused traffic jams in New York but in spite of all these hassles, the most powerful man in the world, President Barack Obama, still made it to a Broadway show, ‘Joe Turner’s Come and Gone’, right in the heart of Times Square. As he told reporters, “I am taking my wife to New York City because I promised her during the campaign that I would take her to a Broadway show after it was all finished.”

Such is the lure of Broadway, that all-American icon of theater!

An all-Indian cast heads the animated film ‘Mira, Royal Detective’ – a great way for young Indian-Americans to see people like themselves on the big Hollywood screen.

At times you’re not even sure you’re watching a movie – it seems like a very extended, very elaborate dance contest on TV and goes on and on. If you’re with a group of teenybopper friends and love hip-hop dance moves, have access to a large size Coke and a huge tub of popcorn, you’ll have a pretty good time.

What better way to grab victory from the jaws of defeat than to watch ‘Million Dollar Arm’, Disney’s fun tale of two village kids from India making it in the big, big world of professional baseball in America?

The fact that this is a true story makes it all the more enjoyable and relevant. The film stars ‘Mad Men’ star Jon Hamm, along with Lake Bell, Madhur Mittal, Aasif Mandvi and Suraj Sharma in a very likeable film. A benefit screening in NYC raised $5000 for AmeriCares India

In the city of reinvention, what better way to stand out from the crowd than to reinvent yourself?
As the film festivals focusing on South Asian films have multiplied in the Big Apple, the oldest and most noted showcase of them all, the MIACC Film Festival, is now known as New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) and is focusing on independent and regional films, while still being open to Bollywood blockbusters. The opening film ‘Do Dooni Chaar’ is a Disney film with Bollywood stars but imbued with the indie spirit.

The next time you shop at Wal-Mart or Best Buy, you’ll be able to pick up a Bollywood DVD with your milk, potato chips or your electronics. And for those of us having to wait to get to an Indian store to pick up our DVD masala, it will be fun to just order it from Amazon.

Although Disney already has a presence in India, this is the first time the company is distributing a Hindi film on DVD in the US. The movie is ‘Like Stars on Earth’ – better known to Bollywood fans as ‘Taare Zameen Par’ – Aamir Khan’s award winning film which has moved audiences everywhere and was India’s official selection for the Academy Awards 2008 in The Best Foreign Language Film category.