Shah Rukh Khan made an appearance in Atlantic City last night.

Will post more photos and comments shortly, but in the meantime here’s a link to Rediff’s photos by Paresh Gandhi and what I wrote about his encounter with US Immigration at Newark Liberty Airport last night before we got to see him.

Meera Nair, Hirsh Sawhney and Pete Hamill

Attended the book launch for Delhi Noir, the latest in the international series from Akashic Books, held at the Rubin Museum on June 10th (yes, that lovely space that used to be Barneys).

Well now it’s even lovelier, and bless their hearts, they keep the gift shop open well after the evening event has ended (something I wish the Asia Society would do too).

The emcee for the event was Hirsh Sawhney, the editor of Delhi Noir as well as a contributor.   He was joined onstage by Meera Nair, she of Video fame who also has a story in this tome, and Pete Hamill, a noir godfather of sorts, given that his was the first story in the first book of the series back in 2004, Brooklyn Noir (and a great story it is, darker than Hamill’s work usually is, with a wonderful sense of foreboding as we follow famous writer Carmody on his way to his Barnes and Noble reading in Brooklyn).

Joining the trio on stage were actors Rita Wolf (who was so terrific in My Beautiful Launderette) and Ajay Naidu, who I adored most recently in Loins of Punjab Presents.   Each took turns reading excerpts of several stories.

In between, Sawhney, Nair and Hamill discussed noir and its history in film and fiction, and the new book.   It was a lovely unhurried conversation.   Here’s a link to where you can read more and listen to some of the readings, and here’s where you can see some more pix.   Enjoy…

… hello, hello, I’m back again.

I’ve been off the blog for way too long, first due to a variety of pressures, but then, due to complications with WordPress.

I’ll spare you the colorful expletives about that experience, but I will share with you high praises for friends who made the time to help untangle things:   Patrix, a wonderful triage doc, stepped in, applied pressure to stop the bleeding and made an initial diagnosis, and then Madhu, the chef surgeon who, after a long and thorough consultation, identified the offending part, deftly sliced it off and replaced it with a better one.   (Madhu’s the chef par excellence and proprietor of Shiok and the lounge, Moss, in Bangalore.)

Heartfelt appreciation to both gents, and, boy am I happy to be back.

Caught a performance last Friday night of the fast-paced one-man comedy show D’Arranged Marriage performed by Rajeev Varma (who plays all eight characters).

It’s the story of Kiwi Sanjay Gupta as he tries to make his  way as a stand-up comic and dodge  his parents attempts to get him married.

Stay tuned for an interview with New Zealand natives Rajeev Varma and his co-creator Tarun Mohanbhai.

The show has been extended  through the end of May summer.   Check it out  at the Soho Playhouse.

Well, almost.  

Who could have ever imagined a link between the US space shuttle and an indie Indian movie?

The Malayalee maestro, Santosh Sivan,  mentioned recently in an email  that his film Before the Rains (which is releasing in India in May) was actually carried into space by astronaut Steve Swanson aboard the shuttle Discovery on its March voyage, and he attached the above photo.   My first reaction was “No way!   This has to be some kind of a joke!”

But no, it is indeed fact.  

It turns out the executive producer, Ashok Rao, is a Houston resident and has close  ties to NASA, and it was he who gave the DVD to Swanson.   The astronaut had hoped to attend the Houston premiere of Before the Rains last year but was in training for the space flight and couldn’t be there.   That photo forwarded by  Sivan was actually snapped by Swanson onboard the Discovery shuttle, as the DVD floats in the weightless environment.   Now that he’s back on terra firma and once he’s completed his quarantine and debriefing, Swanson will be returning the disc to Rao, embellished with the signatures of all seven of the Discovery astronauts.

While in Houston for the premiere, Linus Roache (who stars in Before the Rains, as well as the TV series Law and Order) was permitted into the astronaut training facility and had a chance to watch the seven going through their rigorous weightlessness paces.

Last night, at the R Bar here in NYC, editor/cabaret singer/author/is there anything else this 28-year-old can’t do? Rakesh Satyal played charming host to well wishers there to count down to midnight when his debut novel, Blue Boy, officially  went on sale.   I am at an uncharacteristic loss for words to describe his Kirantastic azure ensemble last night and will hopefully get a pic up soon so you can see for yourself.

The often hilarious novel is the story of  a desi ‘tween boy growing up in Ohio, who has a flair for dance, drama and sneaking into his parents bathroom to try on his Mom’s make-up.   It is  a piercing portrayal of those awkward  years  that just about anyone will relate to (weren’t we all awkward at that age?), whether the reader is gay or straight, desi or not, and we’re escorted on this trip by Kiran, the protagonist, whose drole asides will often produce either silent nods of recognition or uncontrollable laughs, especially if you try and read a particularly funny passage to out loud to friends.

I couldn’t help but think while reading it that Blue Boy, with all it’s pop culture, music and TV references, would make a great film, a kind of The Namesake-meets-My-So-Called-Life-meets-The-Wonder-Years mash-up.

While no film deal has been agreed upon yet, Satyal confirms that there has been interest.