When I came to America, I was only allowed to take out of India the princely sum of $75/- plus the $8 I could get at the Foreign Exchange Counter at Mumbai airport. I had to survive on this capital until I picked up the first check of $250/- of my fellowship from the University of Illinois….
By Madhav Chavan There is a big part of India where the Lower Stall, the Upper Stall, Balcony, and Dress Circle still survive although they are under threat from the upstart multiplexes. The Family Boxes were around in smaller towns well into the sixties but they suffered the same fate as the family rooms in…
A couple of years ago, I had the distinct pleasure of hearing an address by Professor Salman Akhtar, a noted observer of Bollywood and a renowned psychoanalyst. In his speech, Dr. Akhtar laid out what he thought were characteristics traits of the Global Indian or Desi men. These are: Trait 3 – At a party, the…
The conversation described in this note took place on Friday, May 16 between Mark Haines and Erin Burnett, co-anchors of the daily “Squawk on the Street” show aired on CNBC from 9 am to 11 am. Picture the setting of this conversation. Erin Burnett calls Mark Haines from India. She has set a table with a variety of Indian food items, one of which is a…
Rarely have I liked an India Special on American TV as much as I liked Erin Burnett’s One Hour Special on India. This show aired on CNBC Friday, May 16 at 2 PM on her daily show StreetSigns. CNBC will post clips of this show on http://www.cnbc.com soon. I would strongly encourage all readers to view the segments of this special on…
By Madhav Chavan Editor’s Note: My last comment about “A song from Rangoon” ended with a brief comment about Bhagwan, his movie “Albela” and how people in the audience used to dance to Bhagwan’s songs. Below is a personal memory of such a moment from Madhav Chavan, a keen observer of Bollywood. Madhav came to the…
An informed European-American reader of this blog told me that Bollywood films always make her feel good. It would be very hard to make any one feel good about the tragedy in Myanmar and the historic city of Yangon or Rangoon as it used to be called. The only way I know is to bring you the great song…
The New York Times has reported that a boat carrying some of the first aid to Myanmar sank, apparently after hitting a submerged tree. The article uses this fact to highlight the enormous logistical difficulties of delivering aid to the region. But, the article does not mention what happened to the crew of the boat, the crew…
When we ask this question of our friends, they think we are joking. Most people are not even aware that New York Times reviews Bollywood films. Well they do and they do it well! We are becoming fans of Rachel Saltz who reviews Bollywood films for the New York Times. She is critical when she…
This is the second article in our series about Bollywood Interpretations of Hollywood Films. In the desi tradition of using short forms, going forward, we will use our phrase Bolly-Holly (copyright of and by CinemaRasik) for this category. Changing Lanes is a 2002 film that stars Ben Affleck and Samuel Jackson. IMDB (www.imdb.com) describes the film as…