Rush Limbaughness in India

So the Indian Idol craze continues, even after it's over.

A few days ago, a radio jockey made some racist comments about Indian Idol winner Prashant Tamang, his Nepali heritage, and Nepalis overall.
The Radio host said:

“Aaaj Prashant Tamang ‘Nepali ladka from Darjeeling’ [Today Prashant Tamang, Nepali boy from Darjeeling] has become Indian Idol [laughs sarcastically] and we have a [cricket] match tonight so we need to guard our house / malls / restaurants by ourselves as there will be no Nepali people to guard these place and whole night we need to say Jagtay Raho [stay awake].” The RJ also added that all the Footpath Momo shops will remain closed as Nepali guy has become Indian Idol.

The statement is absurd, incredibly racist, and quite offensive. There are stereotypical views that many people of Nepali origins are guards or police officers. Tamang, himself, was before an officer as well. Although the statements are extremely racist, the aftermath was even worse.

About a week ago, I wrote an entry about the extraordinary support Tamang has from his community. When an ambulance was trying to pass through the region where Tamang lives (which is in India, not Nepal), angry mobs prevented an ambulance on its way to the hospital, which resulted in extreme violence from the police. the conflict resulted in sixty injuries.

The outcome is ridiculous, but the underlying sentiments hold strong. Many view Nepalis as lower class citizens, below Indians. As India is growing and prospering, so should the people, and their thinking.

The Oscar Craze hits Mumbai

The Oscar craze has begun-- but not in Hollywood. Big names in Bollywood are at each other's throats over India's official entry to the Oscars for the "Foreign Film" category.

The drama over the nomination is so intense, I get where all the over-the-top dialogues in their films come from. This is a brief chronology of what happened: First, the jury selected Eklavya- The Royal Guard, which got stellar reviews from both The New York Times and The LA Times. Unfortunately, it did not have the same fate at the Indian box office. Then, the director of the incredible film Dharm about a conservative Hindu priest (which went to the Cannes Festival, but did even worse at the box office) takes the matter to court, claiming that three of the jurors who chose Eklavya are good friends with Eklavya's director, Vidhu Vinod Chopra (And she has a point-- one of the jurors directed the making of Eklavya, a promotional film for the movie).

But the drama goes on. Big names such as Sajid Khan (a comedian, and most recently, a director of a box office hit), his sister Farah Khan (choreographer, and now awaiting the release of her second directorial venture) and Anupam Kher (winner of eight Filmfare Awards, Bollywood's Oscars, and who has starred in two of Chopra's films) did not agree with Eklavya as the official entry. And Chopra did not agree with this. In an interview, he questioned the knowledge and acting skills of anyone who attacked his film's entry for the Oscars.

But, who are Sajid and Farah to just stand back and listen? Sajid Khan responded in an open letter, and Farah talked about the nasty words spoken by Chopra in an interview.

Whew. Too much drama! Sadly, if these icons spent more time making better films and supporting each other, maybe India, or Bollywood, wouldn't need the Oscars.

The Outsourcing of Production Companies-- from India to America

In the past, American distributors have held an arm's length relationship with Bollywood-- rarely collaborating with the people, but sometimes acknowledging it.

Times have changed. Some view Bend it Like Bekham or Monsoon Wedding as breakthrough movies, making the connection between Hollywood, the richest movie industry, and Bollywood, the industry with the most popularity. There's only one problem with that: Those films aren't Bollywood.

The film Lagaan did make the news when it was nominated for an Oscar, but that was six years ago.

Now, as India is becoming more of an economical force and a greater presence in international affairs, Hollywood, and American entrepreneurs, can no longer ignore the "other" movie industry.

Recently, Sony Pictures decided to produce a film titled "Saawariya." The movie is directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who has won countless awards for the four previous movies he directed. This will make "Saawariya" the first film produced by an American company.

The movie features two newcomers, children of accomplished Bollywood stars. The film has been creating much buzz among Bollywood fans. Let's hope that the movie lives up to the expectations, and initiates a great collaboration between India and America, Bollywood and Hollywood.

Chak De India!

Although my previous post was about the film, "Chak De India," I had to make a special note on India's victory over Pakistan in the Twenty20 match, which made them World Champions!

And of course, Bollywood has to have a hand in this incredible victory, and in the changing face of the cricket team. NDTV reported that Rashid Latif, former Pakistani Cricket Captain, said that "it was the film Chak de India and actor Shah Rukh Khan's presence that inspired Dhoni [the Indian cricket team captain] and his men to victory." We'll take your word for it, Latif!

The Bollywood-Political Connection

There are 22 official languages in India. Each state, each region, even some cities-- have a culture, language, and traditions of their own. There are more than ten movie industries in India (each in a different language). Bollywood, which is the Hindi film industry, is the most popular film industry in the country.

Recently, a Bollywood film titled "Chak De India" dove into the issue of isolation among Indians. "Chak De India" stars one of the most popular actors in Bollywood-- Shahrukh Khan. Not only did the film focus on cultural differences and traditions among Indians, it was also a movie about a sport, hockey, and on top of that, it focused on the women's hockey team.

Without a doubt, the production company Yash Raj was taking a risk with this film, which is about a disgruntled coach (Shahrukh Khan) who takes a group of 16 girls and makes them hockey champions. With the star power of Shahrukh Khan, great advertising and promos, and of course, an adept script and bold dialogue, the film did remarkably well. It has been added to the Oscar library and is being used as a case study as well.

It did so well, in fact, that Bal Thakeray, the leader of the conservative and religious Shiv Sena political party, had his entire staff watch the film. If Thakeray asked his staff to watch the film for the ideal of "team spirit," to show the disconnect that exists among Indians (and the hope that this may one day change), or to see the troubles and sexism women face in the country, one doesn't know.

But it does show that these films can make a difference. We'll wait and see how much that difference turns out to be.

Bollywood Stops Pretending

A certain type of prosititution has been covered for decades in mainstream Bollywood movies, from the days when prostitutes were beautiful and talented dancers, catered to the rich of society. In "Umrao Jaan," which was recently re-made (though it was a flop, compared to the original classic), actress Rekha played the famous role of a courtesan who was a legendary poet and singer. "Pakeezah" was another incredible movie, portraying the role of a courtesan who fell in love with a rich man. "Devdas," remade three times in Bollywood, also had a courtesan who lived in luxury and fell in love with a handsome, rich man.

I use the word "courtesan" to describe all these characters because, although these women were prostitutes, they lived a life of beautiful jewelry and costumes and love affairs with young rich men.Actual "prostitutes," women who actually sell themselves on the street, are rarely seen as main characters in mainstream Bollywood.

"Laaga Chunari Mein Daag," a film releasing next month, deals with a middle class family moving to a big city, Mumbai. The main character becomes a prostitute, and must hide this truth from her sister, father, and loved ones.

Although the films "Chandni Bar" and "Chameli" were movies where the actresses were prostitutes, those movies were not as mainstream. The reasons that I believe this film is more revolutionary than others are:

1. It will have a greater effect and outreach than others because of the star-cast, which includes six extremely popular Bollywood stars.
2. The director's last film (which was his first) was an award winning, box-office success
3. The music is catered towards the mainstream Indian audience (there is an introductory song, a love song, a sad song, and a party song-- ingredients to a hit musical score)
4. The production company, Yash Raj Productions, is the currently the most popular and successful in India.
5. The film brings together Rani Mukherji, who plays the main lead, and Konkona Sen Sharma, the supporting actress. Mukherji is one of the top actresses, who has extreme commercial appeal and great credibility. Sharma has been tagged by many as an incredible actress (seen in more art-house style films), but has slowly started acting in mainstream films.
   

Although this movie isn't going to be groundbreaking, it is always exciting when Bollywood stops pretending that certain societal problems do not exist, or that audiences won't be able to handle it.It's about time that a mainstream, blockbuster film about prostitution is made.

Indian Idol Winner Declared

So, Prashant Tamang was declared the winner of Indian Idol.

As now is obvious, becoming Indian Idol is just an outcome of governments and businesses pooring money into voting for the Idol.

On many news channels in India, Lata Mangeshkar (arguably the most respected singer in India) has also disagreed with the singing reality shows. They just don't work in India, and hopefully, people will soon realize that.