Indonesian actress Christine Hakim, a six-time recipient of Indonesia’s prestigious Piala Citra award for best actress, grew up watching Shammi Kapoor films according to an article in the Hindustan Times on July 17. “A lot of Bollywood content is shown on TV in Indonesia. Bollywood existed in my country even before I was born. I…
I prefer Ajay Devgan’s “Omkara” to Lawrence Olivier’s “Othello”. Let me take you on a journey to show why I mean what I say.“Words such as Fantastic, Marvelous, Great, can not sum up the work of art Vishal (director of the film) has shown in his adaptation of Othello” said BBC Asian Network. Rachel Saltz…
Last week, as I watched CNBC during the day, I was struck by similarities between my reactions to watching Bollywood Films and my reactions to watching CNBC. This article was triggered by that realization. Bollywood films seek to entertain their audience and to make people feel good at the end of the movie. CNBC behaves just like…
Rachel Saltz writes reviews of Bollywood films for the New York Times. Her reviews caught our eye because she seems to really get the essence, the spirit or the “Ras” of the films. Most reviewers, whether in America or in India, have a tendency to be overly cynical and overbearing. We find Rachel’s style refreshing….
A few years ago, I was in a hurry to get to JFK Airport to catch my flight. I offered the young cab driver an extra $50 if he could get me there in time. I made my flight but the drive was a terrifying experience. I was highly impressed by the young cabbie’s skills…
The movie “Disclosure” made history by showcasing a unique twist to a more common tale – Sexually aggressive, predatory behavior by a woman towards an unwilling man. When the woman is the stunning Demi Moore and the man is Michael Douglas, the film is bound to draw substantial interest. I liked Disclosure. Demi Moore looks…
I would hazard a guess that every notable scholarly pursuit in American history began at Harvard. This may be my naiveté or the pain of having paid four years of full Harvard tuition. The formal study of Sanskrut began in America at Harvard in 1872, when, as the Harvard website says, “James Bradstreet Greenough, a…
During his recent visit to China, Pranab Mukherjee, the External Affairs Minister of India, handed over the prestigious Padma Bhushan certificate and medallion to eminent Sanskrit scholar and Indologist, Ji Xianlin, who translated the great Indian epic, Ramayan in the 1960s. The award for the 97-year old Ji had been announced on January 26, 2008, the…
CNBC aired its documentary “India Rising – The New Empire” by Erin Burnett on Sunday, June 22 at 10pm. This Erin Burnett documentary is as Good as the PBS documentary is Bad & Ugly.As an aside, watching the PBS documentary made us realize that CNBC is indeed a special network. It covers financial markets which…
On Sunday, June 22, the PBS show “Now” aired its documentary about India called “India Rising.” Rarely can a show be called both Bad and Ugly. The PBS “India Rising” show justifies both adjectives. It has been a tradition in certain circles of America to call Television the “Idiot Box” and to look down on people…