You’ve heard the phrase “gateway drug”? Usually it refers marijuana, with some folks asserting that smoking pot is not as harmless as most people think, rather, it’s the start of a slippery slope, serving as a gateway to harder drugs. For me, the 1998 release Dil Se was a gateway film, in so many […]
Ghosh, Baker, Slumdog
Doston, two pointers….. Khabar magazine’s November issue carried a double interview I did with Amitav Ghosh and his wife, author Deborah Baker. Ghosh discussed his recent, Booker-nominated tale Sea of Poppies, and Baker, her recent book, A Blue Hand, about the Beat poets in India. In their December issue, Khabar has a review I […]
Happier days in Bombay
December 2007. Gateway, taken from outside the Taj: Christmas tree on the move: Dad and daughter on the way to school: A little bit of morning traffic:
Russell Peters compares Kollywood and Bollywood
“That’s why I like Tamil movies. It’s not about looks in those movies.” Russell Peters on NDTV’s India Questions. Russell has obviously not seen Surya’s latest, Vaaranam Aayiram (review coming later today).
Slumdog Millionaire
When you get to the eye scene, try not to freak out. Hold on tight and stay put, because things will get better, I promise. The man who gave the world Trainspotting has produced Slumdog Millionaire, this let’s-not-mince-words story about the picaresque life a young slum-dwelling boy, Jamal, who has been poor and […]
The Other End of the Line
The Taj Mahal? Really? There was nothing else that they could put on the poster to suggest India to Amrikan audiences? Ok, so, Priya lives in Bombay (or Mooooom-buy as, Granger, her love interest, hottie from Desperate Housewives Jesse Metcalfe calls it), and maybe not all gringos will realize that Gateway or […]