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Austin South Asian | January 2015
More Than Bollywood
Shaku Selvakumar What was one of the highlights of 2014? The fact that the Indian summer was no longer a one time phase. Go to Target, World
South Asian infused color, styles and trends on the shelves. Ikat prints, Rajastani trunks, Ludhiana shawls, Sherwani jackets, bandini pillows and tye dye quilts.
exposed to both faces of cinema. We loved Sholay but we were also treated to Shyam Benegal’s, Mandi or Satyajit Ray’s Charulata.
What, after all is the essence of good cinema. Yes, it is to fully engage you and keep you riveted to the screen. But it doesn’t stop there. The conversation continues when the film stops rolling. Good cinema touches a chord. When Ship of Theseus was screened across multiple cities in 2014, it left an imprint on every viewer.
truly blind even when we have sight? Are all lives equal? So many questions and more from one film. Some were posed to the director, Anand Gandhi who attended a few screenings. It also, in turn, helped non profits like the Mohan Foundation and bLifeNY who were dedicated to spreading awareness of deceased organ donor donation. Indie Meme has a very productive year and had a total of sixteen screenings. All of them filled to capacity. Films included Kaphal, Fandry, Gulabi Gang and others. Gulabi Gang, another brilliant film, highlighted how a group of rural women started a movement by empowering themselves and caught the imagination of an entire nation. Award winning director Nishtha Jain attended the screenings and was touched by the reception abroad.
What is the purpose of life? How do we perceive ourselves? Are we
Perhaps you are a first, second or third generation South Asian
Move over Raj from the Big Bang Theory, you have company. Mindy Lahiri and New Girl’s CeCe are unabashedly second generation Indian and enjoying mainstream success. Far from portraying stereo typical heavy accented roles that were the embodiment of the fumbling Indian in the past, the new South Asian is much more confident and straddling East and West with much more ease than in the past. Both onscreen and offscreen.
Market, Pier1 or any other big retail outlet and you will find
While Bollywood continues to provide entertainment, music downloads and plays an intrinsic part of our lives, it is still a one sided course. For many of us who grew up in India, we were
or perhaps you just love good cinema. Either way, your access to movies that make a difference will be limited if we don’t collectively make it happen. So what is our wish for 2015? Just three simple requests. Please become a member. It just takes $20 to sign up. Attend our screenings. You are part of our community and we really enjoy seeing you at our venues. Spread the word. If any film that you saw touched your heart in some way, then magic happened. Finally, please do save the date for our Film Series coming up on Feb 7th & 8th where we plan to screen around 8 films. A combination of documentaries, fiction and shorts. We are planning to have Skype interviews with our filmmakers as well. The information is on our website indiememe.com
PK and AMIR It has become a trend of sorts now that the year ends with a major release by none other than Aamir Khan in the month of December. After the release of DHOOM 3, as we gear up for the Christmas holidays, Aamir Khan brings his new film PK. Said to be a comedy-drama, the makers of the film have managed to keep the story tightly under wraps, despite the film’s heavy promotions. As already reported in the media, Aamir Khan plays the role of an alien, something that is relatively new in Bollywood. Add to that, director Rajkumar Hirani wielding the megaphone after three backto-back hits, PK has managed to generate tremendous hype prior to its release. However, does the film manage to live up to the expectations, will the past success (3 Idiots) of the Aamir Khan - Rajkumar Hirani combination work its charm in enticing the audi-
ences to the theatres, will PK be a Christmas gift to cherish for the film loving audiences? Lets analyze.
The film starts off with PK (Aamir Khan), an alien, landing on earth, in the desert of Rajasthan, to study
about human begins and life on earth. Arriving stark naked on a earth, PK has a rough start on the planet when his tracking remote, that helps him send signals back to his spaceship, gets stolen. He now has to find the remote to contact his spaceship and till then survive on earth on his own. Unaware of human mannerisms, language or life in general on earth, PK finds it difficult to adjust. However, fate brings him in touch with Bhairav Singh (Sanjay Dutt) who becomes his dear friend and helps him with life on earth. But destiny takes PK to Delhi. From here on starts a whirlwind story of a stranger in the unknown city of Delhi asking questions that despite their innocence hold a valuable and deep meaning. Aided on by Jagat Janani (Anushka Sharma) who teams up with him on this journey, PK challenges some of the oldest rituals of religion that are ruling life of people on earth.
As for the performances, Aamir Khan excels in the title role. This is probably one of the most challenging characters that he has played so far and with his stellar performance, Aamir Khan carries the film all the way. His childlike innocence, his Bhojpuri accent and his love for ‘paan’ only adds layers to the character of PK. Anushka Sharma, who has in her previous releases earned quite a bit of critical acclaim, does a good job as Jagat “Jaggu” Janani. She stands shoulder to shoulder with Aamir through the entire film. Sushant Singh Rajput is impressive in an extended cameo. Saurabh Shukla, though good, seems to be underutilized along with Boman Irani who too could have been given a meatier part. Sanjay Dutt, on the other hand, manages to carry off his role as a Rajasthani man with panache. Rajkumar Hirani, known for his films like 3 Idiots and the Munnabhai series tries to live up to
his reputation of telling an engaging tale with a message. Though the storytelling is seamless, PK does seem to lack the punch that his earlier films had. Though the screenplay (Abhijat Joshi and Rajkumar Hirani) of the film is comprehensive and engrossing, with humorous situations and entertaining dialogues, the narrative does get slow at certain points. PK however hits the right notes and entertains. Overall, PK that releases during tanticipation and a massive release (approximately 5000 screens domestically and 800+ screens overseas), PK is sure to create new box-office records. On the whole, Aamir Khan’s PK is a solid entertainer that will surely entertain the masses and classes alike. An outstanding film. Go for it.