I’m a newbie when it comes to Bollywood. I didn’t spend my childhood memorizing the words to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. But as I tell my friends, I’m trying to be more “ethnic” so I was excited to hear the Museum of Modern Art was presenting an eight-film series “Raj Kapoor and the Golden Age of Indian Cinema” last month.

Raj Kapoor is known as the Charlie Chaplin of Indian cinema; he was also called the Great Showman. His box office hits in the 1940s and 1950s often starred him as the “tramp” character, such as in Awaara, Shree 420, and Mera Naam Joker. Kapoor’s films often featured social issues he was passionate about, such as poverty, unemployment, and cultivating pride in in India’s new independent state. Kapoor was also a musician; the music in his films were always woven into the story and a highlight of the plot.

I was pleasantly surprised and entertained by the quality of the Kapoor film I saw, Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai or Where the Ganges Flows. Kapoor plays Raju, a traveling musician with a heart of gold, who is adopted by a group of bandits after he helps the sardar (or leader). Still viewed with suspicion by the rest of the village, Raju performs the titular song above, which some consider to be similar to India’s national anthem.

My favorite part of the film was the appearance of the actresses. Padmini, who played Raju’s love interest, was beautiful and charismatic. When she first appeared onscreen, I was shocked by her full figure – and then ashamed of myself for my reaction. I’ve been so brainwashed by modern cinema, I had forgotten what a curvy, healthy woman looks like.

Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai is a great introduction to “Old Bollywood.” The music and dancing is charming, the performances are moving, and though the run time is a little long, the film provides context to a crucial, often forgotten part of Indian cinematic history.

Last month, I finally watched City of God. No, not the Brazilian movie of the same name, but a 2011 release. Skimming over the Wikipedia page, I learned that despite the raving critical reviews, it failed commercially. Personally, I can only assume it failed because of the realism emphasis and the experimental plot development. Tangentially, there is not culture of independent “art house” cinemas to act as a space for “different” movies.

Anyway, without giving away the plot, I shall attempt to articulate why this movie left me speechless and almost ruined all other movies for me.

It’s important to reiterate the strong connection between West Bengali culture and Malayali culture. City of God uses a method of cinematography called “hyperlink cinema”, which for those who have seen the Brazilian movie, is that style. for those who haven’t – it’s “where the characters or action reside in separate stories, but a connection or influence between those disparate stories is slowly revealed to the audience.”  The first movie to use this style of story telling was Satyajit Ray’s Kanchenjungha.

City of God uses hyperlink cinema to highlight a plethora of social issues like domestic violence, sexual double standards in the film industry, class differences emphasizing the labor economic class, the NRIs’ effect on local economic development, and the mafia. There are more superficial reasons why I enjoyed the movie: looking at Pritviraj and Rajeev Pillai, watching a dark actress with curly hair playing the superstar actress, the music choices.

You can watch the full movie (without subtitles) here.

After watching City of God, I watched Traffic. Like COG, Traffic used hyperlink cinema; unlike COG, Traffic was a commercial success. Honestly, I didn’t like this film as much as City of God. I know it’s because I went from watching one of the best Indian movies I have ever seen, to a similar type of movie. This movie was based on real life events, perhaps acting as one of the reasons for its incredible popularity. If I had not viewed City of God, I think I would have found Traffic to be just as enthralling as most of the Malayali audiences.

The last Malayalam movie I have started watching is Ghaddama (Housemaid). For transparency’s sake, I want to state that I have not finished it. My reaction to the film is only based on about half of the movie. This is a pretty extraordinary film, but to understand its context, the viewer should understand the growing dependency on the Diaspora link between Kerala and the Gulf.

In the 1950s, the Gulf’s oil boom developed into a large scale commercial industry and the need for cheap labor became evident. India’s unemployed labor force was the first and most obvious choice. Keralites established a link between their state and the oil industry. As of 2008, there are approximately 2 million Keralites in the Gulf and they send home USD 6 billion a year. The hope for more household income drives many to migrate and pick up menial jobs.

This is the setting for Ghaddama. The movie is about a woman migrating to Saudi Arabia and the abuse, lies, discrimination and violence she endures while living there. This movie is the first to discuss this Diaspora from a woman’s perspective. The stark Saudi Arabian background removes the visual entertainment film-goers are used to seeing in Indian films.

I am aware that the movies I have seen are self-selected and there is a lot of bias in how I feel about the Malayalam film industry so far. However, they haven’t disappointed and I hope to watch a wider selection in the future.

If any of the readers have suggestions and elaborate on why I should watch those movies, leave a comment!

Have you ever felt as if you were in a tug of war between two worlds?  Or even questioned traditions and customs that you at first grew to accept without really enquiring whether there is any validity behind them?  Maybe you worked your hardest to achieve something that you wanted only to be criticized and doubted?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, then you will find yourself relating to Amrit Singh, the protagonist of Ocean of Pearls.  I am usually drawn to films that focus on the South Asian diaspora but are in English. Ocean of Pearls falls into this category and is now easily one of my favorite movies of all time. No matter if you are South Asian or not, you can easily find yourself relating to the situations that befall on Amrit in this movie.

The award winning film focuses on Amrit, a Sikh doctor from a very religious and traditional Sikh family. Amrit moves to Detroit to serve as the potential new face of an extremely promising organ transplant program.  Growing up in the Western world and then facing the dilemmas that his new job soon start to wear on Amrit. He begins to think that maybe the strict religious rules of his family may not be appropriate for the world that he lives in.  He encounters numerous racial obstacles in his path to success that hinder him from achieving what he hopes and attaining the recognition he deserves. After a while, Amrit decides that in order to accomplish anything the way he wants, he must take a drastic decision that his family and traditions condemn.

Amrit finds himself dealing with changes in every aspect of his life: his career, his family, his relationship, and most drastically, his values.  Ocean of Pearls explores the journey that Amrit takes to find himself when all he has known until now is confusion.

Ocean of Pearls is realistic and can appeal to a whole range of individuals, especially South Asians who often have to find a medium between adjusting to the way things are and the way their parents think things are.

You can check out the trailer below:

Ocean of Pearls is Directed by Sarab Singh Neelam

Does anyone remember that little movie that came out way back when in 2001, called American Desi? It was a small independent film that sort of blew up in the Indian American community. It was the first of its kind that featured actual Indian kids, growing up in America, and walking the tightrope between Desi and American culture. It was the first movie to actually address the issue of being an ABCD and opened the door to much of the dialogue we see today. That movie is also significant because it was the debut performance of one very special guy, one that many of us Brown Girls have fallen in love with over the years: Kal Penn.

Yep, Kal Penn was that guy who was drunkenly peed on and acting like he was a thug from inner-city Detroit. He was epic in that role and it has rightfully led him to bigger roles and a place in Hollywood. Harold and Kumar, The Namesake, Superman Returns, and guest appearances on Star Trek and now on How I Met Your Mother is just the short list from his filmography. And lets not forget he was a guest professor at the University of Pennsylvania and worked for the Obama administration as the Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Liaison.

He’s a dreamboat all right.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of sitting in on a telephone interview with the one and only Kal Penn while he was promoting his third installment of Harold and Kumar. Due to scheduling, I didn’t get to ask him questions and this might have been a good thing because compared to the other reporters on the line my questions would have hovered around “Are you single?” “What type of girl would you date?” “Are you currently seeking your soul mate?”

Nope, instead the call with other Asian American journalists revolved around more important matters – his career path, his impact on the Asian American community, and his future career plans.

One thing that impressed me the most about Kal Penn was how incredibly humble he is. He repeatedly thanked the Asian American community for embracing him and his co-star John Cho in the Harold and Kumar movies.

When a writer asked about how he felt about paving the way for other Asian American actors in the Hollywood, he answered “John and I are very privileged. The script, the directors, and Warner Brothers taking a chance on us has brought us here. And the fans that supported us has really been great for all of us.”

He brought up the fact that Warner Bros. took a huge risk by taking on a project like Harold and Kumar. Something I hadn’t really thought of before. Kal said, “ Before you had not seen a movie with two Asian leads. It was a great risk that Warner Bros. took and its an honor to play the character.”

In regards to the raunchiness of the Kumar movies, Kal mentioned, “I love that Kumar is so different from me in real life. I’m not a fan of the one-dimensional character. Every community has flaws and we are finally seeing well rounded characters.” He also added how much he loved Mindy Kaling and Aziz Ansari for creating more diverse and unique characters. Oh how wonderful life would be if they ever collaborated!

Kal also discussed the type of roles he took on initially in order to break into Hollywood. When Kal started, roles for a brown guy were limited. Through guidance from role models, he has not been timid to turn down stereotypical roles. “We all audition for things that are bit parts and you hope they launch into other things.”

One of the most interesting parts of the conversation revolved on his decision to put a temporary halt on his acting career to work for President Obama.

“My interest in public service is tied into values my grandparents left me.  They marched with Gandhi in India and this made me socially conscious. I’m not a political person – I am very much an independent. But I saw this guy doing amazing things that I could volunteer for and I could also serve my country,” said Kal.

His goal was to put in two years into public service. However, the shooting of the third Harold and Kumar prevented him in doing so. After shooting the movie, he decided to reapply for the position. He was awarded the opportunity to come back (why wouldn’t anyone want him back!?) to the post and finish the remainder of his two years.

Since his life in D.C. (where he was apparently robbed at gun point!), he has continued to pursue various roles. You might have seen his most recent gig on How I Met Your Mother. He’ll be completing a couple more episodes on the show.

Of having the opportunity to work with Neil Patrick Harris again and the HIMYM staff, Kal says, “We get a long real well which is a real treat. Neil is a great actor in his own right and a force to be reckoned with. The whole staff is great.”

And of course Kal talked about the third installment of Harold and Kumar,

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. Now I’m pretty skeptical of sequels, but after listening to Kal describe the movie, I’m actually excited to see it.

Kal explains the appeal of the third movie by saying, “It’s the same writers in this film as in the past. The writers are consistently funny. And its a Christmas movie which gave us a lot to play with. And there is a  great dichotomy with characters. Kumar is still smoking weed and his girlfriend just left him. Harold on the opposite spectrum is living with his beautiful wife in the suburbs. The movie opens up with Harold and Kumar not being friends anymore.”

Kal’s future projects seem pretty inspiring as well. He is currently working on developing a new video game that incorporates art into gaming technology (yeah, that was a random new fact to learn about him!). Kal is also writing a pilot for a new comedy series which we definitely hope that a network picks up.

Basically, by the end the phone call my crush had been reaffirmed. But, I also learned that Kal Penn is an amazing guy that’s doing great things as a fellow Indian American. We at BG wish him the best of luck and will be staying tuned!

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas opened in theaters November 4th and is currently running in a theater near you!

CORRECTION: Kal Penn’s character was peed on, not the one doing the peeing as previously stated!

Let’s face it, Indian movies are… not all gems. The songs, the lame dances, the cheese, OH the cheese! That’s what we all grew up to love. But the films on this list have a healthy balance of cheese and maturity that would make anyone take India’s movie industry seriously.

You can read about these films on Wikipedia, but this is a list of why we enjoyed them so much.

January

No One Killed Jessica (Keertana)

Normally I wouldn’t approach these “triumph over evil” type films with a ten-foot stick. But execution and casting push it from unoriginal to inspiring. Considering that it is based on a true story about a woman who goes on a crusade to bring her sister’s murderer to justice, the film already starts with strong feminism. The film does a good job of casting a defiant and disapproving look at the crumbling judicial system in India. Vidya Balan is fantastic as the sister of the victim. She exudes naivety and heartbreaking pain when she finds out her sister has been murdered. And Rani Mukherjee is at her snarky, cynical best as the journalist who decides to help the case. Another plus: the women get to be real, especially Rani. She curses, she is comfortable with her sexuality, she doesn’t care what anyone thinks about her; she’s pretty much my hero.

There are some completely cliched moments like when Vidya’s character wants to stop fighting for the cause but changes her mind after a stern but rousing lecture from Rani and a heartfelt candlelight vigil in her sister’s name. But the movie shows off an improved twist on traditional Bollywood filmmaking.

Dhobi Ghat (Sheela)

Why is this movie worth watching? First off, it’s Aamir Khan outside of his Bollywood persona. It’s Prateik Babbar portraying a (gorgeous) washerman. It’s new comer Monica Dogra doing what we all wish we could do – documenting other sides of Indian life. These three characters represent a new India, one that is progressive, disenfranchised and curious. It’s slow, and reminds me of an art house film. The colors are dark, but so are the characters and their relationships. It’s simultaneously edgy and comforting, exploring a microcosm of what makes Mumbai and that’s what makes Dhobi Ghat worth watching. (It’s also a great way to introduce your friends to Indian cinema before hitting them with the typical Bollywood masala movies)

February

7 Khoon Maaf (Keertana)

This film has a complicated relationship with viewers and critics: either they really enjoyed the hyperviolent themes and morbid story, or they hated it to the very cores of their beings. Obviously, Sheela and I are in the first camp. We were in love from start to finish. No longer is Priyanka Chopra one of those pretty girls who used to make a lot of silly movies about nothing. She’s proved her acting chops in a few smart films now and damn, she is just about perfect as seven different incarnations of the same twisted woman who just can’t find the perfect man. I’m sure we can all relate. Difference is, I’m not sure I would kill someone for always feeling frisky (that one died from too much of his own “frisky medicine” if you catch my drift).

While the men don’t get much face time, some of them make lasting impressions. Without question, my favorites were Neil Nitin Mukesh, John Abraham and Irrfan Khan. They completely embody their terrible traits and it makes killing them the only reasonable response. Neil Nitin such a great performance that it’s impossible not to be wowed. And John Abraham is at his absolute best as a struggling rocker who hits the big time. Irrfan is always brilliant and will make you sick to your stomach when you find out his kill-worthy trait. See this film… Don’t get any ideas, but definitely watch it.

Tanu Weds Manu (Sheela)

I don’t like wedding movies. I mean, not just Indian; any wedding movie from any country in any language will end half way with me rolling my eyes. The only reason I gave Tanu Weds Manu a chance, was I heard positive things about it, and for the most part, didn’t disappoint. Kangana is really funny in this movie, Madhavan proves an emotional rock and Jimmy is a loose cannon. The characters are weird and that makes this a romantic COMEDY. It gets a little sappy at the end, but that’s easily overlooked by the first half of the movie. If you want a cute girls night or even date movie, Tanu Weds Manu is appropriate.

April

Shor in the City (Keertana)

“Karma is a bitch.” That’s the first song you hear during Shor in the City. It’s pretty much the perfect way to describe this film about five lives who face different dilemmas during a festival in Mumbai. So we all know from every Bollywood movie ever made that Mumbai deals with a LOT of crime. And while this film also deals with different kinds of crime in Mumbai, the execution is more darkly funny and twisted, almost like a Quentin Tarantino film but without all the severed limbs.

The five guys are great, especially Tusshar Kapoor who quite literally may never have a better performance. Heroes star Sendhil Ramamurthy is also pretty fantastic as an NRI who comes to Mumbai to start his life over only to get into more trouble. The stories here are all a bit obvious but the way the characters handle their situations keeps the movie fresh. It’s gritty, off-beat, interesting and it breaks the cycle of boring gangster/mob boss crime films.

Dum Maro Dum (Keertana)

When I heard about this film, I was worried to say the least. Another drug/crime noir? A not-so-subtle reference to the movie Hare Rama Hare Krishna? GROAN. But I was fairly impressed with the style of this film. It’s obvious that the point is to show how corrupted the government and police are in Goa (and most of India) but the movie is about several different lives that are forced together by one drug lord and his manipulation.

The cast is pretty great. Abhishek plays the good-guy with a dark past with ease- he could probably do that role in his sleep by now. Prateik is good once he gets to play vulnerable. But along with Abhishek, the shining star of this film is Telugu actor Rana. He has the right balance of quiet anger and heart to be perfect as Abhishek’s foil and partner (in a way). It’s definitely worth checking out, but get ready for an intense time.

June

Shaitan (Sheela)

The movie art turned me off at first. The surreal art portrayed it like a religious movie or another college movie that I couldn’t connect with. I finally came around to reading the summary, I realized it was neither. This is a movie about overindulgence and privilege and it doesn’t let you forget that. It’s a fantastic movie. Bejoy Nambiar is obviously influenced by Western directors, evident in the cinematography. The editing is interesting and use of the soundtrack is well used. The five main characters (I really can’t call them protagonists or antagonists) don’t try to be redeeming. They are just trying to spend their parents’ money on drinks and drugs. There are aspects to their characters that almost make them relatable, but for the most part, their story is alienating. And that is what makes it so fascinating.

July

Delhi Belly (Sheela)

Hilarious. Seriously. I couldn’t stop watching and laughing. Like Shaitan, it’s incredibly smart. Unlike Shaitan, it takes every incident and elicits a laugh from it. I wish I could explain why I think it’s the best movie of July, but without context, my review will mean nothing. It’s the smart kind of funny. There’s latent feminism woven throughout the plot. The music is fun and used wisely. The burqa scene is NOT offensive. The bharatnatyam dancers, the food, the matryoshka dolls, and the five star hotel, I Hate You (Like I Love You), the Disco Fighter. Irreverent and incredibly entertaining. Yeah, those clauses sound about right.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (Keertana)

Thank you for this movie Bollywood. This is a great look into three very different men who happened to be best friends and how they change each other’s lives in incredibly important ways during a bachelor party/road trip to Spain. It’s sweet, moving, smart, different and even better: It’s really funny.

All three actors here are brilliant. Abhay Deol is the rock of the group. He does a fantastic job of keeping the friendship strong and united. Hrithik is amazing as the stuck up, Type-A personality who learns to let loose with the help of a girl (Katrina Kaif, who usually bugs me beyond all reason but is quite charming here). And my absolute favorite is Farhan Akthar who gets to play the funny guy who has ulterior motives for the trip. He is so vulnerable and his performance is emotionally devastating. The guys have awesome chemistry, the songs are clever and catchy, and the script is so realistic. And there are enough cheesy moments and strange coincidences to still make this an appropriately “Bollywood-y” film. It’s the perfect companion to films like Dil Chahtha Hai and you’ll enjoy it from start to finish.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing filmmaker and inspirational Brown Girl Ishu Krishna. She is is currently filming her first full length feature, Arrange to Settle.

Arrange to Settle is a feature film about an Indian girl that decides to get an arranged marriage following a series of failed relationships.  Even though her father gives her an “out” before the invitations go out, she commits to going through with it.  After making this commitment, she meets Justin, the man of her dreams. [via]

How did your career path lead you to filmmaking?

“My undergrad degree is in theater and I have a photography background. My parents, being typical Indian parents, wanted me to major in something academic. [As a compromise] I convinced them to let me major in English and theater. I never thought film was an attainable [option] because of the costs [camera, equipment] involved. In 2004, I was at Sundance with a friend who was using digital video. We started making movies together and I really loved doing it.”

Ishu behind the camera

How did you get the idea for Arrange to Settle?

“I have an MA in political science and an MS in IT. I wanted to do something for myself so I went back to get an MFA in film.  Many film students do a short film as a thesis but I had already created short films so initially I wanted to shoot a feature film.”

Krishna eventually settled on writing two feature length scripts for her thesis.

Krishna received inspiration for Arrange to Settle from her own life.

“I was at home and my mom wanted to set me up with someone. I was thinking, what if I agreed [to be with someone] but then met someone else. This script ended up sitting around for a year. I have a full time job so I could only film on weekends and it was hard to find people who would volunteer for months.”

Auditioning for a role in the film Love and Alysha ended up being a turning point for Krishna.

“I helped the producer a lot for the film. That’s when I realized I could do a movie myself. I felt like I kept making excuses as to why I couldn’t do things, so I wanted to just jump in. [That is part of the reason] I am raising money as I go instead of waiting [until the project is fully funded.]”

Filming for Arrange to Settle started in early May and is scheduled to end in August. Shooting takes place on weekends to work around Krishna’s full time job with the IRS.

Lead actress Shilpa Priya Jagadeesh

I saw your idea on Kickstarter. How else did you raise funding?

“Kickstarter was one of many companies I used for funding. The reason I used the site was two fold – it was free marketing and a funding source. Two people who found me [through Kickstarter] turned out to be bigger money donors. I went above my goal for my insurance and found real investors. Indian Express found me and did an article on me. It was very successful.”

What advice do you have for young women interested in directing movies or other non traditional careers?

“You only live once. What is the worst thing that could happen? You can always go back and find another job. The greater the risk, the greater the reward.  It’s important to be open with your parents and tell them how important [your dreams] are.

Don’t be afraid of failure. Accept failure but have a back up plan. A lot of my Indian friends are afraid of failure but my American friends aren’t.”

How did your family react to your career choice?

“They were really supportive. [Initially] they would tell their friends I make films as a hobby but also have a high-paying IT job. I finally confronted them and  asked “When are you guys going to recognize this is not just a hobby?” Since then, they have been a lot more accepting.”

Shilpa Priya Jagadeesh "Jyothi" and Ravi Khanna "Vimal"

How would you describe the plot of Arrange to Settle?

“It sounds like a chick flick but it’s really more of a drama than a romantic comedy. I used to say [the movie was about a woman] who was 30 and wanted an arranged marriage.  Now I tell people it’s about an American born Indian woman deciding between the guarantees of an arranged marriage and the turbulence of love.”

Learn more about Arrange to Settle by visiting the facebook, twitter, and website.

All images from Arrange to Settle facebook. Image credit from top: 1 and 2, Jeff Urbanchuk; 3 and 4, Corinne Walker

I don’t know about any of you but I’ve been having terrible withdrawals because of the lack of Indian men on TV this summer. Only one show on TV right now has an Indian guy on it – and he’s got OCD and agoraphobia. That would be Pindar Singh from TNT’s Franklin & Bash in case you’re into that kind of thing.

Sure Bollywood keeps churning out films with new actors that have hot-guy potential, but what do we really have to tie us over until the big wigs start releasing their films? An image of a bruised up and unwashed Imran Khan from his new movie Delhi Belly.

So in honor of yet another incredibly hot summer, we at Brown Girl would like to present our very own hot Brown Boy guide for 2011.

Now this is also going to be an interactive piece. We have pictures of our top hot Indian men and we encourage you all to post who you think should be added to the coveted list. These men don’t have to just be actors by the way. We’re talking any cute Indian guy you’ve ever heard of… preferably someone who can be found via Google (or Bing depending on preference). Trust me, it’s been a hot summer, and we’d love new suggestions of men to gawk at. It also gives us a reason to sift through more photos of attractive men that most Indian mothers would thank Krishna for.

I’m going to start this list off with some Men of the Screen:

Abhishek Bachchan

This movie royalty has had a semi-tough year in film. His first release of 2011 was not received well by critics and his second one was not received well by audiences. Thankfully, Lil ‘B has at least one more release this year so there’s more of him to look forward to.

Hrithik Roshan

This choice is obvious. He is the reigning champion of hot men (arguably of course). With an eagerly anticipated release, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Hrithik shows he’s not going anywhere for a while.

Farhan Akhtar

Speaking of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, there are three main guys in the film and they are all quite attractive. Farhan Akhtar is known for his directorial skills (see Dil Chahta Hai), but after his acting debut, he can’t be stopped in Bollywood (see Rock On! and Luck By Chance). Looks like he’ll head back to the director’s chair for a Don sequel. Good looks and multi-talented? Definitely worth a spot on our Summer Hotness List.

Abhay Deol

Now we can’t leave out the third man in our Zindagi film trio. Abhay is the cousin to both Sunny and Bobby Deol and, no offense to them, but he is the best looking Deol of the bunch. Abhay’s not lacking in the acting department either. His films and performances have reached universal acclaim like DevD and Road, Movie. Deol has at least three more films coming up in the next year- he’s unstoppable.

Shahid Kapoor

The man with the looks of a pretty boy and the muscles of a juiced-up body builder is having a quiet year; he’s been silently filming a new movie directed by his father called Mausam. While Shahid has had his film ups (Jab We Met, Kaminey) and his film downs (Chance Pe Dance, Milenge Milenge), it always seems as though he’s the shining star on the screen.

Prateik Babbar

He started as the anti-social, artsy brother in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na and now he’s one of the hottest and most requested actor in Bollywood (He’ll end the year with at least four releases). Who knew the weird-looking kid from Imran Khan’s first movie would turn out to be so good looking?

Imran Khan

The nephew of Aamir Khan. I’m sure that’s not his favorite way of being introduced but that’s exactly how he became famous. But luckily for us, his acting is almost as good as his boyish good looks. Never fear, he’ll be around for a while.

Ranbir Kapoor

I always thought Ranbir Kapoor looked weird. But after seeing him in some great films (Wake Up Sid, Rajneeti, etc.) I’m starting to get the appeal. Yes he has a great body, but he’s got an air about him that makes him seem humble, kind, and funny. I’d give him a spot on the list just for one of those qualities.

Next, I have the American/European Indian Men. Everyone has their favorites so we decided to add a couple of ours.

Sendhil Ramamurthy

This guy is the epitome of someone who can bounce back. After Heroes tanked in it’s third and fourth seasons, Sendhil switched networks to USA and joined Covert Affairs. The show turned out to be a giant success, Sendhil is now a regular on the show and yet he still found the time to do a Bollywood movie that was actually pretty well received (see Shor in the City). Not a bad job for the guy who played one of the only characters on Heroes who didn’t start out with a power.

Naveen Andrews

He was in Lost. Just having that credit alone should be enough. But Naveen Andrews was not just on Lost- he was one of the emotional centers on Lost. Naveen has two new projects for 2012 so thankfully, Lost won’t mark an end to his career- though he may always be Sayid Jarrah to me.

Dev Patel

Yes, starring in a terrible M. Night Shyamalan movie definitely brings him several steps closer to being kicked off this list, but I like to hold on to the good times of Slumdog Millionaire and hope that Dev can find more projects like the Oscar-winning film that made him a star. He’s still got youthful charm which will never go away with a bad movie.

Sacha Dhawan

Here’s one that’s less recognizable. Sacha was just on the recently- cancelled show Outsourced on NBC. While the show may not have been all that funny, Sacha was and he also brought a nerdy yet sexy charm to his character. His talent is undeniable as well; he was in the Tony-award winning play The History Boys. Let’s hope we get to see much more of this British newbie.

On that note, we’ll turn it over to you guys.  Who would you like to see on our hottie Brown Guy list? We hope this gives you a suitable reason to look at pictures of attractive Indian men if anyone asks. Happy hunting!

by Komal Thakkar

Every summer I reactivate my Netflix account and add films to my queue that I believe will prevent me from experiencing brain drain. The list includes documentaries, Oscar winners, and independent films all recommended to me by professors, teachers and other academic sources. Unfortunately, I only manage to get through about three films on that list and then end up ordering chick flicks for the rest of the summer. Every now and then when I’m in the mood for something sappy but don’t have the patience or attention span to sit through a three hour Bollywood movie, I’ll casually browse the romantic comedies and dramas available on instant watch. I did that a few days ago and found a film called Shades of Ray that I thoroughly enjoyed and would highly recommend for your next girl’s night.

When Ray Rehman, an aspiring actor, proposes to his girlfriend Noel, he expects her to say yes. Obviously if she did, the film would be over so she doesn’t quite give him an answer. Instead, she heads off to spend the week with her parents on vacation (the one she and Ray were supposed to go on together) in order to convince them to approve of Ray. To complicate things even more, Ray’s stubborn yet absolutely hilarious Pakistani father shows up at his door when his Caucasian, crochet-loving mother throws him out of the house. Now that he’s living with Ray, he takes it upon himself to make sure his son never marries a Caucasian girl.  Since he has no intentions of settling things between him and his wife, Ray must attempt to put his family back together. To get his father to even call his mother, Ray reluctantly agrees to meet Sana, a beautiful girl of similar mixed descent, even though he’s already proposed to Noel. What he doesn’t expect is to actually feel a connection with her. Most importantly, there’s Ray’s best friend Sal who spends the entirety of the film trying to work up the courage to talk to Nicki Evans, his crush since elementary school.

Ray eventually learns that feelings aren’t always black and white (or should I say brown and white?). Over the top characters, amusing one-liners, and a healthy dose of sarcasm make this a lighthearted film about the various colors of relationships between family, friends, and everyone else in between.

Last year, I started my South Asian radio program, Rangeela, without understanding Tollywood. What was this? How had I not heard about it? Is Telugu real or is the Internet just messing with me? My program depended on exposing mid-Missouri to a wider spectrum of music beyond 1990s Bollywood music, so I had to learn about it, and fast.

Tollywood is the Telugu film industry, mainly popular in Andhra Pradesh. It is second, or third depending on the year, in output only to Bollywood or Kollywood.

As I researched Telugu movies and music, I picked up on good and bad composers, how to judge music by a film’s cover, and what the typical Telugu music sounds like, so I could avoid perpetuating the stereotype. By the end of that season, I fell in love with the Telugu song Telisina Mate, and purchased the film it was from, named Ganesh. The man working asked me if I “really wanted it” and if I “realized it was a Telugu movie.”

No, I like to buy movies completely disregarding the language. Literally, a top five pastime of mine.

Anyway, I watched it and became astonished by how bad I found it to be, and before intermission ejected the disc. Most Westerners who only watch masala Bollywood films, generalize all Indian movies as campy. I strongly fight against using this term when talking about Hindi films, but I unfortunately found myself associating that word with this film.

I tried again with the 2010 Maro Charitra, and couldn’t do it either. Whilst in Hyderabad, the capital of Tollywood, the Telugu film industry, I tried watching some Telugu media, and just couldn’t get into it.

I never made it to a Telugu theater. I think it was the mustaches that really freaked me out.

Around September, my roommate in India watched a Siddharth film, Bommorillu.  Rang De Basanti had been on TV the night before, so we all became interested in this actor who moved between Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films.  She had me watch a song from the video, and it was expectedly goofy. After it finished, YouTube recommended Ippatikinka from Pokiri.

I watched it and my life changed, and from then, I made it a goal to watch Pokiri.

It’s hard to explain the effect it had on me. The music video completely destroyed my stereotypes, to say the least.

I continued the rest of my time in India driving past the goofiest Telugu movie billboards and joking with my friends and cousins about the merit of Tollywood.

The second season of Rangeela brought about a new co-host, Keertana, and she knew her Tollywood. Her family speaks Telugu and is from Andhra Pradesh, so I knew I could trust her when she when she said she was familiar with the movies. We started having conversations about Tollywood, and the only things I could reference were the mustaches, the drug bust of August 2010, and Pokiri.

Keertana made it a point to make sure I watched some of these films, and explained that Ganesh was supposed to make fun of the campiness and goofiness of Tollywood. Alas, when one starts off with the parody, it becomes lost on the viewer. To warm me up, she introduced me to a Mahesh Babu film called Athadu. I came out of that experience a true believer in Tollywood.

Oh yeah, I am more comfortable with the mustaches and I finally fulfilled my goal and saw Pokiri. Don’t worry, a review will come soon.

Image from bharatwaves.com

During a November 2009 interview with CNN, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan said that, “Indian cinema needs to move beyond traditional song-and-dance musicals amid increasing international competition in the Mumbai studios’ domestic market.”

The frequent occurrence of the hero and heroine running through meadows while breaking out in song is severely mocked among the Indian-American community, but at the end of the day, we have to admit that we kind of love it.

The musical format of Hindi movies is what makes Bollywood stand out from all other types of films and is the driving force behind India’s music industry.  Song-and-dance numbers in Bollywood play an integral role in promoting Indian music, as well as the artists who create it, similar to how radio helps to publicize music in the U.S.

It’s true that Bollywood isn’t exactly seen as a prestigious film industry: It lags behind in special effects, the scenes are melodramatic, and the plots are often wildly unrealistic. But, who ever said that Hindi films need to imitate life perfectly? Isn’t that what documentaries are for?

A good friend of mine once said that people don’t go to the movies to watch their lives; they go there to get away from them. I couldn’t agree with that more.  The whole charm of Bollywood films is in their sense of escapism.  Bollywood’s exaggerated depiction of romance even inspired the Facebook group “Bollywood gave me unrealistic expectations about love.’  While that may seem like a negative effect, it actually allows audiences to unwind after a trying day and gives them the hope that happy endings can happen.

This isn’t to say that serious storylines aren’t welcome; only that superficial and provocative ones are not lending any artistic value to them.  ‘3 Idiots’ seems to be the only recent Hindi film that actually addresses issues relevant to young Indians and Indian-Americans.  It moved away from the clichéd romance genre and astutely explored the widespread problem of academic pressure.

But for some reason, Bollywood seems to think that sexing up its products is the way to be seen as a legitimate film industry. Rather than addressing the issues that plague the Indian community, both in India and abroad, Bollywood has chosen to assimilate to global film norms by showcasing scantily clad women and steamy make-out sessions.

The risqué road that Bollywood is currently traveling on counteracts the family bonding aspect of Hindi films. Now, it’s nearly impossible to watch a Hindi movie with your parents without squirming uncomfortably.  Long gone are the days when a song would make a potentially sensual moment come to screeching halt.

Come to think of it, maybe the days of hearing Hindi in these films are also long gone.  Over the past decade, Hindi films have often been titled with English words, but over the past few years, the actual language spoken in the movies has also shifted to English. The film ‘Kites’ is the latest example of how Bollywood is diluting its own culture in exchange for reaching a more global audience.

If Hindi filmmakers did a little more research, they might be surprised at how much of their audience appreciates traditional Bollywood movies. It would be wise of Bollywood to re-evaluate its goals and how it should reach them, instead of hoping to merge with Hollywood and, as a result, lose its unique identity.