October was a good month to be Sikh in the Big Apple – there were enough films, seminars and socializing events to make you think you were back in Amritsar or Delhi! The 8th Annual Sikh International Film Festival took place at the Asia Society in Manhattan with a powerful array of films organized by the Film Chair Dr. Paul Johar.
It’s not often that you run into Bollywood biggie Karan Johar at a makeshift Chowpatty or chat with Mira Nair while eating kulfis at a fake Pasta Lane – and that too in the heart of New York, inside the Grand Hyatt Hotel!
The event was An Evening in Mumbai, and like the real Mumbai, this imitation Mumbai glittered. Every one of the guests was dressed in Bollywood glam, a mad medley of colors and jewels. For a day, every guest was a star and walked down the red carpet.
“My father was a CEO, so I grew up in a family that gave me a very real sense of the positive impact that business can have upon society – from providing goods and services to creating jobs to building entire communities,” says Nitin Nohria, Dean of Harvard Business School.
“Women in South Asia are some of the most policed in the world. Their sexuality, their bodies, their desires are constantly monitored and judged through the morality of societies in South Asia,” says Myna Mukherjee, director of Engendered. “Fashion has an incredibly popular appeal yet is considered frivolous or superfluous – both its creative roots as well as its worth are constantly questioned.”
Zenobia Shroff received rave reviews in Sooni Taraporevala’s ‘Little Zizou’ in which she starred with Boman Irani. Now the actress is trying her hand at stand up comedy with her one-woman show in New York.
Cinema can be a powerful way of creating awareness of culture and issues. The Sikh community has been very successful in doing this by telling stories about the community and the faith.
“You know what it is with me – I’m all heart. I can’t do anything else. Everything I do, for every decision I make – of course I use my brain – but my heart kind of takes over, and I can’t fight it. So music was just something I couldn’t give up.” – Jay Sean
“Outsourced” is a loaded word, particularly in today’s economic climate, so NBC’s new serial is creating quite a buzz. A comedy about a Mid-Western novelty company that outsources its call center to India, it’s a showcase for Indian-American talents.
So is this the big one? “Absolutely,” says Rizwan Manji. “Correct me if I’m wrong but I think it’s the first time that there’s been a television show on a major network that has a primarily Indian cast. So I think it’s a huge deal – it’s scary but it’s a big opportunity!”
On 9/11, 2001 all hell broke loose from the sky in Lower Manhattan, and America and Americans have never been the same again. A human trust was broken, and now there’s always a chasm, a looking over the shoulder, a wound which never completely heals.
That brings us to the proposed Cordoba House community center/mosque near Ground Zero. Not a handful of soil has been turned nor a brick has been laid, yet this mosque-to-be has caused angst, debate and anger. Like a phantom, it has entered into conversations, both real and virtual.
Sometimes you buy a piece of contemporary Indian art and get a love story too in the bargain! Cinq Sens (Five Senses) by M. F. Husain is a powerful work originally gifted by the artist many, many years ago to film director Roberto Rossellini and his Bengali wife, Sonali Dasgupta.
It was a love match he helped bring about, for at that time Rossellini was married to the noted actress Ingrid Bergman and Sonali was the wife of a documentary film-maker in Calcutta. The painting is estimated at $500,-700,000 and is being auctioned by Sotheby’s, and here’s the story behind it.UPDATE – IT SOLD FOR $782,500