Tattoo diary: Queens, New York

Re Scout # 80

Well a lot of filmmakers have realised that there is a Non resident desi market out there and have decided to cater to it (just take K3G as an example) but you did bring some good memories when you talked about those movies from the 80`s. IMHO some of the best comedies came from this period, i.e. Golmal, Damaad, Katha, Angoor, Chashme Badoor. All the Amol Palekar, Utpal Datt, Dipti Naval, Farooque Sheikh movies with gentle humour and no crudity which kept you chuckling all along.

re: Veeresh

{{Dear Stuka . . . Ali1 had and has already lost credibility with interactors of both sides, so it really doesn`t matter what he says anymore.}}

veeresh uncle you are mistaken there...to name one, anNy, highly `respects` Ali1`s contributions to chowk...so let`s not presume...if stuka wants to sock it to that eunuch, as do i, nothing wrong with it...immature? yes...wrong?..i`m not sure..

Subroto #79,

to tell you the truth, i think the real reason why i have a negative attitude towards such desi movies is their desperate attempts at pleasing the West.

someone tell those fine directors and producers that it`s ok to script a good movie in pure Hindi or Urdu or Gujrati with purely desi issues, and not fall into the trap of ``pleasing Western cinema critics`` with Anglo-Indian culture bull$hit.

i still miss those wonderful issue oriented, purely desi, Om Puri, Deepti Naval, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi movies from the eighties.

Even Pakistani serials these days are turning ``Angraizi.``

it`s pathetic.

Re Scout #51

Its like this I went back to India after 4 years, couldn`t get the time to watch Monsoon Wedding, came back and then saw it. The film is fun. As they say Meera Nair’s target audiences were NRI’s who would feel nostalgic while viewing this movie. I did as it was set in ``sadde dilli``. It also touch upon child abuse, pre marital affairs, sex at adolescence, rich versus poor(yep I loved the maid servant & wedding contractor part too). It gives an insight into an India which is not seen otherwise - why do award winning Indian movies have to be about poverty only? I am not saying it`s Oscar winning material, just that I feel it might have been a better choice than Lagaan, after all it did win the award for Best Picture at the 58th Venice Film Festival. Incidentally this made it the first time that India or a woman has won the top prize at the world`s oldest film festival in Venice.

Re Dost Mittar #55 I did miss watching Bawander too (damm both the movies were a walk away from my house). But I believe there has been some controversy about this movie - the lady at the heart of the incident portrayed in the movie says that the filmmakers did not take her permission (the film makers say that they have not only payed her but set up a trust fund). The actual character involved was a 55 year old Sathin in Rajasthan - Bhanwari Devi - portrayed by a much younger Nandita Das. While it may be a good movie how much of it is true to the real story?

Apart from that all I need to say that being away from India and not getting to watch Hindi Movies regularly (in a hall not video) has changed my tastes - I am now willing to watch hero/heroine and a few thousand extras gyrate to any tasteless song. Heck ab to appun ko Govinda/David Dhawan ki picture dekhna ko mangta.

Dear Stuka . . . Ali1 had and has already lost credibility with interactors of both sides, so it really doesn`t matter what he says anymore. Either of two things happen to people taking extreme positions on a voluntary named / anonymous board like chowk:-

a) Either they start understanding and then onwards get slightly more mature, usually undera new handle.

b) Or they get bored with the lack of attention and then blow away like dust in the wind.

How about an article or research on the common traits of people dying on our borders? Initial research by me does show that Indian now seems to be losing more educated middle class while Pakistan seems to be losing more ``illiterate unwashed masses``. This is also because it does seem as though India has a wider middle class . . . there is also some indication that the officer class in Pakistan is more barrack and dhandaa based (wider options in civil life apparently). (I say this on the basis of inputs and not with any motive, please.)

It would be interesting to know what the Pakistanis think about this? If Pakistani blood is cheaper than Indian blood (on a simple per capita basis) then any guesses on wherewe are headed??

Veeresh:

I really feel bad about this. Unfortunately, I am now bound by my word. I had sworn to Ali #1, a few months back, that if he did not desist, I would follow him from board to board, insulting everything that he comes from and stands for.

He didn`t, and so I do...

I have been doing this diligently for a few months. I really don`t see a way out because he will not stop, and one cannot just sit back and take abuse. Eenth ka jawab pathar sey, aur gaali ka gaali sey.

Thank you for referring to my non Ali focused posts as thought provoking. On other matters, I will be on my best behaviour.

Dear Stuka . . .

I will, on behalf of a few others, request you to stop stooping so low. It doesn`t suit your style or your handle. Your interacts in the past used to be very thought-provoking.

sincerely,

Veeresh

Rehan..I think it`s awesome that you`re teaching a class on cinema...I second what Samina said, if there`s anything I can do to help, let me know! It sounds interesting..and if I wasn`t trapped in you know where...I`d want to be there, with you as ustaadji :)

Truth: I suppose everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I`m curious as to what made you think Lagaan is a god-awful movie. It`s definitely not the greatest movie made in the world (I`ve yet to come across that). But I thought it gave us a story that had multiple layers to it, and a response to a struggle that actually was happening in the India of that time.

I don`t think the movie reduces what poor farmers had to suffer through. As for its authenticity, since when have movies, historical or not ever relied on total authenticity?! But if this movie could do anything, and I think it does, it opens eyes to a people`s history that has not gotten much attention before, or has been lost. And it`s for this, in my humble opinion, that I feel that Lagaan deserves the accolades that it gets, and that it is deserving of being nominated for an Oscar.

With apologies and hopes that I haven`t turned this into a Lagaan-centered board..Ana :)

Ali #1:

``[What about the Mohajirs? The ones in Karachi? Do their mothers actually have dicks?]

No. ``

How do you know? Did your mom show you what she has down there, so you could make sure?

Ali # 1 :

`` No wonder you dad buys chastity belts by the dozen.......... but we still have you.``

And how would you know what my dad buys and does not? Abey chakkey suar kee aulad, budhe aadmiyon pey to tharakna chod dey.

rehan

no i havent but have you thought that taht mustve been the steam from teh pressure buildup in the brain cavity : ) impairs clear thinking !!

but hey sounds like fun !!

Starbuck/Aamir

``Ar you also ``negotiating sexuality ````

If a male interactor takes on the nicks of women, aren`t they ``also `negotiating sexuality```?????!!!!??!?!?!?!??!?!!!!??

Shouldn`t you either be 1. making lots and lots of coffee right now, 2. Checking on your spaceship? Arre, wait a minute; you don`t happen to have some abducted Chowkies on it, do you?????????????????

Rehan,

Don`t know if I can be of much help, but if theres anything I can do, let me know. Also, I`d love to take your class. Keep me apprised of the details? saminasha@aol.com

Ana,

Its hilarious and endearing how Westerners have stopped trying to classify South Asianess- I`m thinking of Sara Sulieri`s critique of colonialist England`s unravelling attempts to classify, name and know various Indian ethnic groups by skin color, clothing, etc...when the very diversity of our cultures defy classification...as for mod. pop, its the same all over the world-an unbeliveable and dense polyglot of cultural references and reference points. Whats going on in South Asian pop can somewhat be compared to Alternative Latin Rock; I`m thinking of bands that incorporate and hybridize a number of Western, African and Latin influences...so its quite possible for a song to switch back and forth from several genres in the span of 5 minutes...

``In my opinion, the Oscar nomination should have gone to another movie I recently saw on video, `Bawander` (Sand Storm) with Nandita Das. I found the film flawless and superior to Lagaan, but I understand it has been having problem finding theatres for exhibition in India. I am thinking of writing a review of it for Chowk.``

...mittarsaab, this movie had its premiere at the karavan film festival in khi, and both nandita and the director were there to promote it...haven`t seen it as yet, but hear that it`s worth watching even if a bit banal...

Lagaan is a god-awful movie. That it gets nominated for an Oscar shows that civilization rests on pillars in quicksand.

Drumz #153 While ganja (a concentrated form of marijuana, as I understand) may well lie beyond the field of right and wrong as you and brother Rumi say, it certainly lies in the middle of the field of bad health. Read, in the name of thy Lord, the following URL and mend thine evil ways, O reckless youth!!

http://www.health.org/reality/

You are better off examining female anatomy with the help of the Playboy Textbook as Zafar suggests. Wont land you in an ER unless you get carried away with your fantasies and sexually assault the vacuum cleaner.