One Happy Family

Just because we love them both....

See Perez interview M.I.A. on his new show "Perez Sez" on VH1
"Perez Sez". www.vh1.com

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

Bollywood Blogger

Now we've really heard it all. Just when you thought Bollywood's audience couldn't possibly get any bigger, out pops yet another seemingly random fan.

Anu Heikola, a 29 year old from Finland, is absolutely in love with all things Bollywood. And she happily blogs about it on her site, anuradha.vuodatus.net, complete with a picture of Anu in a silver sari and bindi. Ever the devotee, Anu even changed her name to Anuradha in her undying support of Bollywood.

In fact, Anuradha doesn't understand Hindi, but it doesn't seem to matter. The romantic, song-and-dance appeal is what draws her in. Although the blog is in Finnish, you can check out pictures of all the Bollywood heavyweights, Kareena, Aishwarya, Akshay, Salman, Abishek, and of course Shah Rukh, who seems to have a signficantly higher number of pictures on the site than his colleagues.

Hmmm, does someone have a little SRK crush?

Anu's blog, anuradha.vuodatus.net

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