Are Hollywood movies going to be a cash cow for Indian-American producers? Generally you have NRI filmmakers making movies with Indian themes or Indian actors but Naveen Chathapuram of Chicago has just ventured into mainstream territory, by producing ‘CA$H’, a psychological thriller with Hollywood stars Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings), Chris Hemsworth (Thor, Star Trek) and Victoria Profeta (Push, The Drew Carey Show). The film is written and directed by Stephen Milburn Anderson (South Central)
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Recession? What recession?
An untitled painting by M.F. Husain just sold in auction in New York for over a cool million dollars – $1,058,500 to be exact, over five times the estimated price. ‘Gestation’ by H.S. Raza, which was estimated at $600,000 – 800,000, fetched $ 1,202,500. An untitled Manjit Bawa sold for $602,500, double the pre-sale estimate.
Contemporary Indian art is certainly the comeback kid if the auction results at Christies, Sotheby’s and the online auction house Saffronart are any indication.
“I am convinced that if more of us could spend a few minutes every day trying to develop a sense of inner peace, eventually it would become part of our lives; then everything we do will contribute to peace in the world.”
These were the words of the Dalai Lama about The Missing Peace project which took place in 2007 at the Rubin Museum, sponsored by the Committee of 100 for Tibet and the Dalai Lama Foundation. The exhibit may be long over but here as we browse some of the images and the text, re-walk the galleries in memory, the exercise becomes both a meditation and a benediction.
The tragedy of Partition is almost Shakespearean in its fallout. It’s been over sixty-three years since this catastrophic event occurred yet its effects continue to unfold, like seismic aftershocks. No one on the Indian sub-continent has really escaped its scathing wounds as the two countries carved out of undivided India in 1947 – independent India and Pakistan – reel even today from the legacy of hatred and suspicion unleashed by the Partition. In reality, one people, one culture, today stand on opposite shores – We and They – talking in tongues which neither understands.
One would think that everything that had to be said about the Partition has been said but along comes Sarah Singh, an intrepid film-maker who has boldly gone into this troubled, calloused territory.
Are you into yoga? What about your dog? If you didn’t know this already, there is yoga for dogs, known as Doga and it’s beneficial to your pets.
“A celebration of glamour with a touch of American Classic sportswear and a hint of love, sex and Rock & Roll” is how designer Naeem Khan described his Autumn/Winter 2010 collection which showed in the tented city of Bryant Park during New York Fashion Week.
So powerful is Dr. Atul Gawande’s writing that Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s partner, sent him a $20,000 check without ever having met him, after reading ‘The Cost Conundrum’ his piece about healthcare in The New Yorker, the Huffington Post reports.
Gawande, being Gawande, did not accept the check personally but donated it to Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Surgery and Public Health for an international project.
Gawande’s passion and commitment comes through in his latest book.
Would you like to import an elephant or a rhino perhaps? Ornaments of jade, lapis lazuli, crystal and carnelian?
We may think of global trade as a modern day invention but way back in the ancient world there was a brisk trade and rich cultural exchange going on between far-flung countries. ‘Arts of Ancient Viet Nam: From River Plain to Open Sea’ is an intriguing new exhibition at The Asia Society in collaboration with Museum of Fine Arts Houston, which shows the interconnections which existed between Viet Nam and many countries, including India.
It was the Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week and Sabah Mansoor-Husain was one of six student designers from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco who showed their debut collections at the tented extravaganza. For Sabah, the destination was particularly thrilling for the journey to Bryant Park had started all the way in Bangalore, her hometown.
Think of home, and for many Indian immigrants it evokes memories of cool interiors, a whirring fan and the street sounds floating from the outside. Inside was a cool, domestic heaven, outside was the chaos, the traffic, the ugly realities of the work world, of political upheaval, of price cuts. It was always about inside and outside, two very different worlds. And now in our new global world it is about India interacting with a larger, more complex world at its doorstep.
All aspiring dancers probably fantasize about one day starring in a Bollywood movie, in a big musical number dancing with their favorite movie idol. Well, for Sapna Rohra and Shivani Thakkar, both from Los Angeles, this became a reality when they won Verizon’s Bollypop contest. The grand prize? Round trip tickets to India and a chance to dance with Shahid Kapoor in the Bollywood movie, ‘Chance Pe Dance.’ What’s it like to move from the audience to the big screen?
For all those who’ve been following the real life drama of the release of ‘My Name is Khan’ it will be a relief to know that there’s a happy ending to this blockbuster. After more cliffhangers than the Himalayas, the film finally got to open in theaters across Mumbai and was seen by thousands of people. ‘My Name is Khan’ is an intriguing example of how sometimes reel and real life intersect in this major metropolis.
A movie about racial profiling made by a Muslim man, albeit a Bollywood superhero, itself became a vehicle for racial profiling by the Shiv Sena which sent its army of believers out to threaten and ransack. Well, the people of Mumbai came through, overwhelmingly showing that no one group has the monopoly to speak for the millions in this big, cosmopolitan city.
What’s the buzz right now? Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and their much anticipated movie ‘My Name is Khan’ is what everyone’s talking about.
Well, the buzz is about the film – but also about what could almost become a drama in its own right – the Shiv Sena’s clumsy attempt to muzzle free speech. By now everyone knows about the Sena’s threat to sabotage ‘My Name is Khan’ in order to punish Shah Rukh Khan for his comment about wanting to include Pakistani players in the IPL. The Sena has threatened distributors and theater owners in Mumbai for having the temerity to show the movie, and by association, movie-goers who would dare to watch the film.
Get your shoes on, grab your bags – we are going to meet Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol at a press conference at the plush offices of News Corp, the parent company of Fox Searchlight which is distributing the much anticipated Karan Johar blockbuster ‘My Name is Khan’.It’s a cold day in Manhattan, so let’s walk a little faster to get out of the chilly temperature. In the lobby it’s a long, long line of press folks, photographers and TV anchors all waiting to be summoned for the darshan. WATCH THE VIDEO!
McMansions, hefty bank balances, unfettered success, Ivy League schools, a world embroidered with dollar signs.
For many Indian immigrants, that was the fabric of the American Dream. Add to that a Lexus and maybe a BMW in the double car garage, lots of travel, lots of dining out, and the ability to live a rich lifestyle.
For other Indian immigrants, the American Dream was much more modest—just the ability to survive, to consolidate some savings and send funds back home to family members still in the village.
Yet all these dreams, big and small, modest and immodest, have been gathered, whipped up and churned in the ruthless and noisy cement mixer of the economy—pummeled, pushed and battered by the worst crisis in memory as the global economy has taken a severe beating.
They’ve come from different parts of America, each finding their way to India. With their cameras, eleven American photographers have captured the essence of the country, each drawn to the lush, visual kaleidoscope that is India.
All you Bollywood fans, do you ever wonder how the Indian film industry got started almost a hundred years ago? Forget superstars, overseas locations, musicals and spicy dance item numbers – there wasn’t even sound! It’s hard to believe women’s roles were played by men since even prostitutes considered acting in the cinema too demeaning a task.
‘Harishchandrachi Factory’ is a wonderful little film – only 95 minutes compared to the 3 hour Bollywood blockbusters – and it is a journey into the making of India’s first film by Dhundiraj Phalke, who is acknowledged as the father of the Indian film industry.
Looking at those powerful images, I was reminded of an evening many years ago spent interviewing Francis Newton Souza in his rundown Manhattan apartment. Art was everywhere and not a spot to sit on, until he pointed to a big bundle of magazine covers with his bold pen-work on it. Quite irreverently he commanded ‘Just sit on it!’ – and I did.
“This is the pleasure of making films as a woman – I get to break the rules!” says the thoroughly feisty, unconventional Gurinder Chadha.
Fans who have been waiting for their Bend-It fix will be happy to know her new comedy ‘It’s a Wonderful Afterlife’ has been selected for a world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival which runs January 21-31.
Gurinder Chadha did a quick Q and A with Lassi with Lavina about the making of the movie. (Take a FIRST PEEK at the video!)
In the 1990’s, tens of thousands of ethnic Nepalis living in Bhutan were stripped of their Bhutanese citizenship. Born and brought up in Bhutan, they were ruthlessly expelled by the government, compelled to live in a wasted no-man’s land, in seven crowded refugee camps on the outskirts of Nepal.Difficult as their situation has been, the one silver lining has been the offer of the United States to resettle up to 60,000 of the 106,000 refugees. About 8,000 of them have arrived in the US and will be given government assistance to settle down. I checked out a Little Bhutan which is beginning to bloom in the Bronx.