Down Under Thunder

In what seems to be a totally genius idea, Kylie Minogue will be recording a song written by none other than A.R. Rahman. The Australian pop nymphet is currently in Mumbai filming the song and dance number alongside Akshay Kumar in the Bollywood movie Blue.

I don’t know about you, but I love Kylie. Her over-the-top dance numbers, cheesy pop lyrics, sparkly costumes, and incessant toothy grin seem perfect for the likes of Bollywood. Plus she survived being dumped by Oliver Martinez, battling cancer, and at 40 she’s dating a hot male model 10 years her junior and dancing alongside Akshay Kumar. If that isn’t a Bollywood ending I don’t know what is.

And the Winner is.....

OK, I’m no fan of the circus that is the Oscars. It’s contrived, pretensions and boring at best. But if you’re any kind of desi at all you will be glued to your TV this Oscar season to watch and see what becomes of Slumdog Millionaire’s TEN nominations.

The list includes

· Best Director

· Best Adapted Screenplay

· Best Cinematography

· Best Picture

· Best Score

· Best Song

Alright outside of Slumdog’s nominations, most of the ceremony may still put you to sleep. One can only hope that Sean Penn punches a cameraman and hurls obscenities. Either way, you had better tune in!

The 81^st Annual Academy Awards airs February 22 at 8pm EST. For more info check out www.oscar.com.

Everybody's Rich

OK, Frieda and Dev do not make the best couple, but leave other than that, this movie is fucking amazing. With music by A.R. Rahman and M.I.A., a stellar cast (including Anil Kapoor) and the GENIUS Danny Boyle directing, this movie does not disappoint. It's nice to see a mainstream movie that shows the not so pretty movie. And unlike the typical Bollywood Blockbuster, I actually enjoy seeing the boy get the girl.

Love is in the Air

Love it or hate it, The Love Guru is here. Watch Mike Myers (as Guru Pitka), “Bombay Dreams” star Manu Naryan (as Ranjeesh) , and Jessica Alba (Jane) dance Bollywood style to a remake of Steve Miller’s “The Joker” in The Love Guru.

It's Happening

Just when I started to wonder what where all the summer scary movies are, the news came in. The master of suspense, M. Night Shayamalan is back in full force tomorrow with his latest film The Happening.

In the movie, an oh-so-frightful pandemic is spreading with the unfortunate victims losing the ability to speak and physical deterioration followed by…. DEATH. The movie stars Mark Wahlberg as “Elliot Moore” a high school teacher from Philadelphia, running for his life with his estranged wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel), their daughter and his BFF Julian (John Leguizamo).

Oooooh, sounds scary!! The best part is you never really see the killer, making the entire situation even more of a mystery. And if nothing else you get to watch Mark Wahlberg for 2 hours, (Hot!). Sooooo, grab some popcorn and a slurpee and start the summer movie season off with a bang (or a BOO!).

The Happening opens in theaters Friday June 13, (cue spooky music) www.thehappeningmovie.com

Inhale This

Take a toke and pass it on. Our favorite pot smoking perpetually high Asians are baaaaack! Kal Penn and John Cho return as Harold and Kumar in “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantamo Bay ” out in theaters now.

This time the movie strikes a more serious note, delving into the meaning of life and eastern wisdom. Yeah right. It’s shenanigans and hijinks as usual!!! The movie starts off with the boys finding themselves in trouble as they try to sneak a bong onto a flight to Amsterdam . Unfortunately the “bong” is mistaken for a “bomb” and Kumar is suspected of being a terrorist. Alas, the duo must now out run Homeland Security and escape Guantanamo while trying to clear their names.

Although it’s still pretty much a screwball comedy, the movie does hit a slightly (and we mean SLIGHTLY) deeper note playing with stereotypes (brown=terrorist) while at the same time showing people that Asians are more than just the “model minority”. We like weed too!!

Catch a sneak peak of the trailer here:

“Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay ” is playing in theaters now. www.haroldandkumar.com

Come One, Come All!

It’s that time of year again! The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles is gearing up for their 2008 extravaganza. This year includes “Bollywood by Night” including 21+ Bollywood films as well as a Madhuri Dixit tribute, featuring the acclaimed film “Mrityudand” (The Death Sentence) followed by a discussion with none other than the Queen of Bollywood herself.

Indie film lovers don’t fret. There’s plenty for you too. Song free films addressing issues of poverty, alcoholism, infidelity, and the partition are there for the viewing.

Five days of some of the best in brightest in the South Asian cinema, what more could you ask for?

For more info, check out their site

www.indianfilmfestival.org

Guru in the House

Can’t seem to get your love life together? Work falling apart? You need to call the Love Guru.

In the upcoming film “The Love Guru”, Mike Myers plays “Pitka” an American raised by gurus in an Indian ashram. He returns to the U.S. as a guru to help Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player regain the love of his wife who has left him for rival hockey player Jacques Grande played by none other than Justin Timberlake.

Although the movie seems fairly stereotypical, it’s clearly too over-the-top to be taken seriously. In typical Myers fashion, there’s plenty of sex and midget humor. Think of it as Austin Powers Indian style.

Myers is joined by Ben Kingsley as Guru Tugginmypudha (get it?) and Jessica Alba as his love interest.

Isn’t love sweet?

Catch a sneak peak here

“The Love Guru” opens in theaters June 20^th.
www.lovegurumovie.com

Girls on Film

Screw the superbowl. We know what you want. Check out the teaser from the hotly anticipated "When Kiran met Karen"

Blue No More

Girl meets boy. Girl gets married. Girl moves to India to be with boy. Girl gets dumped. Crap.

In her animated film “Sita Sings the Blues”, Nina Paley draws comparisons between the age old epic, and her own story of being dumped by her husband. After moving to India when her then-husband for his job, she discovered Ramayana. On a short trip to New York, her husband dumped her via….. email. Although she couldn’t relate to Ramayana at first the story later inspired her to create “Sita Sings the Blues” all from her home computer.

Set to the 1920’s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw, “Sita Sing the Blues”, the film is like a yummy candy land ride of beautifully saturated colors and quirky characters. Smart and funny, the story is more “Sitayana” than “Ramayana”, telling the story from Sita’s point of view.

Currently scheduled to screen at the Berlinale Film Festivale in February, Nina hopes to eventually distribute the film at independent theaters around the world.

Take that Rama.

View the trailer.

Sita Sings the Blues www.sitasingstheblues.com

Nina Paley’s website blog.ninapaley.com/

**Nina still needs some $$$$ to convert the video movie into film. So if you like what you see and want to help out visit her website.

The Berlin Film Festival
www.berlinale.de

Musical Monsoon

We’ve seen it all. Grease, Legally Blonde, Spamalot. It’s not the first time a film as inspired a stage adaptation. But none of them have any…. masala.

On the heels of Shilpa Shetty’s Miss Bollywood, along with The Merchants of Bollywood and Bollywood Dreams, comes another desi-centric musical and the first of its kind.

For the first time a desi film will be adapted for the theater. The movie? The 2001 Mira Nair hit, Monsoon Wedding. The musical will be directed by Nair herself and produced by the same group who brought us the Broadway smash Hairspray. Although the director is keeping the cast on the DL, she does confirm that two of the original stars will be in the musical.

Next up for the uber-talented director? Shantaram, a film about an escaped Australian convict who makes a new life for himself in the slums of Mumbai. Lucky for us, this cast for this project is not on the down low. The stellar cast includes Johnny Depp (yeah!), Amitabh Bachchan, and Helena Bonham Carter.

And maybe one day Shantaram will be a musical. Johnny Depp on stage? Now that’s a play we’d like to see.

For more Mira Nair news, check out her website www.mirabaifilms.com

Hotlanta

Who says that NY and LA have to have the monopoly on film festivals? No, no, no certainly not us.

Atlanta is stepping into the foray for a second time with its annual Indo-American Film Festival. The four day festival will screen independent movies from both Indian and NRI filmmakers. The entries encompass a wide variety of themes including transgenders and AIDS, identity and roots, prostitution, and of course for what seems like the 137th time, outsourcing.

But here's the twist. If you don't live in the Atlanta area, you can still view some of the films online. The Indo-American Film Society and Kaneva, a virtual networking world, have come together to create an online short film contest. Viewers from around the world can watch the films and vote for their faves. The winner will be awarded the Best Short Film prize.

Nice work Hotlanta.

For more info visit www.iafs.us, and keep checking www.kaneva.com for more info about the contest.

The Sweet Smell of Desperation

We got our first taste of Jesse's hotness as Gabrielle Solis's boy toy gardner on Desperate Housewives. Well the boy is all grown up and now's he seducing.... a sweet desi girl?

In the forthcoming movie The Other End of the Line, Tamil/Telugu star, Shriya Saran, plays an Indian call center employee who falls in love with the hunky voice at the other end, played by Jesse Hot Metcalfe. Like any other sensible girl, she travels to San Francisco to find her night in shining armor and of course hilarity ensues.

Aimed at mainstream audiences, the movie marks the first collaboration between India's largest movie chain Adlabs and the stateside MGM. Production has already started in Mumbai, and will continue in San Fransisco and New York, with release slated for 2008.

Hmm, time to plan that trip to Mumbai, anyone?

For production updates, check www.imdb.com

Who's the Fairest of them all?

A "virgin" queen from England with a beheaded mother and lecherous father. Just the fodder for a former Bollywood director.

On October 12th, famed director Shekhar Kapur brings us the the sequel to Elizabeth in Elizabeth The Golden Age. Fast-forwarding 10 years later, Kapur brings us to the middle of Elizabeth's reign as she faces threats from Spain, familial backstabbing, and an unexpected love for Sir Walter Raleigh.

Interestingly enough, Kapur started his career light years away from the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown. A former account and corporate planner, the director-to-be decided to give it all up to pursue his dream of working in the entertainment industry. After directing Bollywood hits such as Masoom, Mr. India, Bandit Queen, Kapur received international recognition for Elizabeth including an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

Lest you think this uber talented director is a one trick pony, think again. Kapur also created Virgin Comics with Richard Branson and had his hand in helping Andrew Lloyd Webber bring the musical "Bombay Dreams" come to life.

Sweet genius.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age opens in the U.S. October 12th.
www.elizabeththegoldenage.net

Prague-A-Licious

What do you get when you mix a little Bollywood sizzle with a little social critique?

One hot film festival, that's what.

For the 5th year in a row, the Independent India Festival comes to Prague from October 11-14. Founded by three like-minded individuals with a predilection for all things Bollywood, the 3-day extravaganza will feature everything from the classic 1942: Love Story to mega blockbuster Dhoom 2, as well as a tantalizing documentary about golden boy Shah Rukh Khan.

Not just a celebration of South Asian culture, this Bollywood bonanza seeks to examine the significance of Indian cinema in 60 years after independence as well as the impact of Bollywood as India emerges as a significant economic power. And when you're done with all that heady stuff, make your way over to the afterparty at PM Klub with Munich Masala.

Social commentary and song and dance? That sounds like our kind of festival.

Independent India Festival - Addicted to Bollywood,
www.bollywood.cz

Trailers, Trailers, Galore.....

Just in case you can't make it to the South Asian Film Festival in the Big Apple (and because we love independent filmmakers), here are the previews.....

Outsourced


Shame


Milk & Opium


Rivaaz


Dharm



Keep your eyes and ears posted for these talented filmmakers and actors.....

Filmwhalla

Bollywood blockbusters leaving you a little drained? All spice and no substance?

The Desi Dish has a solution for you.

From October 3-9, New York will host the 2007 South Asian International Film Festival. Filmmakers desi and non-desi come together to explore various themes from the South Asian diaspora from the comedic to tragic, from Pakistan to France to the U.S.

Opening the festival is the film Loins of Punjab, the story of 5 Indian-Americans and a Jewish Indophile competing in "Desi Idol", starring none other than the legendary Shabana Azmi. Shabana is also being honored at the festival with a lifetime achievement award by SAIFF for her achievements as an actress.



The festival will also showcase over 50 other films and documentaries, including Outsourced, about you guessed it, outsouring, Rivaaz, a film about a family of prostitutes, Dosar, a Bengali film about infidelity, Shame, a documentary about Mukhtaran Maispoke, a brave Pakistani woman who out after being gang raped.

If the films leaving you feeling a little heavy, you can always lighten up with a cocktail at one of the nightly afterparties. In fact ticketholders are granted free permission.

Sounds like a hot ticket.

The South Asian Film Festival, Oct 3-9, New York.
www.saiff.org

Darjeeling Darling

If you're desi (and we're assuming you are), the idea of spending time with your relatives on a cramped Indian train might seem closer to suicide than a spiritual journey.

But then again you probably don't think Deepak Chopra is genius or that Bikram yoga is like really aaaaaamazing.

Thank goodness for non-desis. In the upcoming film, The Darjeeling Limited, starring Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman and Adrian Brody,director Wes Anderson follows three wealthy yet estranged brothers on a "spiritual" (what else?) quest through India. Wishing to forge a stronger bond, the siblings hope a train trip on the "Darjeeling Limited" will bring them together. Of course, this is a Wes Anderson film, and nothing is as it seems and it's not long before the hijinks and shenanigans ensue.

The movie also features music by Satyajit Ray, along with cameos by Wes Anderson faves Angelica Huston, Bill Murray and jewelery designer/NY society darling Waris . Waris Ahluwalia.

Let the ride begin.

The Darjeeling Limited, opens nationwide on Sept 29. www.foxsearchlight.com/thedarjeelinglimited

Class Issues

"I really hate how I HAVE to go the débutante ball because I'm a slutty hotel heiress. I mean I'd rather see Biff's band play".

"Yeah that blows".

Class boundaries really suck don't they? At least most of us don't have to deal with the such hardships. But you can learn a lot from those who have.

In the upcoming film Vanaja, director Rajnesh Domalpalli takes moviegoers on a thought provoking voyage through social barriers, sex, and the second-class status of women in rural India. Vanaja centers around story of the feisty 14-year-old Vanaja, played by Mamatha Bhukya. Vanaja has her heart set on dancing Kuchipudi professionally, but as the lower class daughter of a drunk fisherman Vanaja has a hurdle of obstacles to overcome. However the plucky girl soon takes a job with the local landlady, Rama Devi, in the hopes of learning dance from her mentor. Along the way she meets Shekar, Rama's beefcake politician son several years her senior, who may just be her downfall.

Written as part of director Rajnesh's student film project at Columbia University soon became a labor of love as the director took to Andhra Pradesh to make a feature film. Deciding to forgo theatrics for a more natural feel, Rajnesh decided to cast locals in the film. Yes you heard right. In fact prior to filming, lead actress Mamatha, had never acted or danced in her life. Which makes the film's success that much more amazing. The film has bagged scores of awards at various festivals including, Best Feature, Best Actress, Best Narrative, and Best Debut and garnered rave reviews from the New York Times and Variety.

Pretty impressive for a student film, huh?

Vanaja, now playing in selected theaters. www.vanajathefilm.com

Coming to a Theater Near You

How many desis does it take to light up the silver screen?

This weekend 2 Bollywood stars are ready to rock your world in 2 very different movies.

In Marigold, director Willard Carroll brings his love for India and a foreigner’s viewpoint to the big screen. The story follows Marigold (Ali Larter), an American actress who becomes stranded in Goa shortly after arriving, when the low budget Hollywood movie she was working on got scrapped. Luckily for miss Marigold, she happens to land a role in a Bollywood movie where she catches the eye of the dreamy choreographer Prem (Salman Khan).

However this is Bollywood we’re talking about and the movie wouldn’t be true Bollywood without love triangles, musical interludes, and flashy multiple outfit dance numbers. To that end, it appears that the star crossed lovers are doomed from the get go as Prem is engaged and Marigold has a boyfriend who just happens to pay her a visit in Goa. Or…..are they? Let the nail biting begin!!

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Bollywood’s reigning princess Aishwarya stars in The Last Legion, an action adventure starring Sir Ben Kingsley and Colin Firth. No references to India, Bollywood, or dancing in this movie. What?! That’s right desis are finally starting to branch out into other non-Indian centric roles. Woo hoo!! In fact, the movie is set in the very non desi ancient Rome taking us through the beginnings of the King Arthur legend.

In the film, Romulus, the last emperor of the Roman Empire, escapes imprisonment by rebels aided by his teacher Ambrosinus (Sir Ben Kingsley) and the general Aurelius (Colin Firth). Accompanying the group is Byzantine warrior Mira, played by Aishwarya. Together they continue their mission to restore the empire.

Desis falling in love and saving the world. Sounds like all is right with the universe.

Marigold,
www.marigoldthefilm.com

Last Legion, www.lastlegion-movie.com