Alliteration: film festivals are fun

I really enjoyed myself tonight at the screening of Kamla. Deepti Naval was being honored with a lifetime achievement award, so they were screening 3 of her films at the festival ... one of which was Jagmohan ji's 'Kamla,' which was made waaaay back in '84. There was a Q&A for Deepti before hand, and then Jag introduced the film. We actually didn't sit around to watch the film (again!) bc both Jag and I had watched it recently.

I was feeling a little out of it at this point. I was tired of making small talk to the random people we kept running into. I also felt like I was tagging along with Jag, and just wasn't enjoying trying to catch up with his conversations with people. We were invited to a dinner that a small group of people were going to (abt 20) at a nearby restaurant called 'Tantra.' I was quite dreading it, to be honest, but knew it was something I had to do.

I sat at the end of a table of twenty people of which I knew about two. One of the guys sitting near us knew me from Cal (I have no idea how he placed who I was ... but he said Jag mentioned that I went to Berkeley when he introduced me the previous night on stage, so that's where he put two and two together). He seemed like a friendly guy; an aspiring actor and filmmaker, whose short had just screened at the film festival. He's from the Bay Area too.

But I spent most of the night chatting with the guy sitting next to me. He was nice and easy to talk to. Sometimes conversation becomes entirely small talk and forced at these kinds of things that you get tired after awhile. But he seemed a lot more ... um, I guess I would say real, for a lack of a better word. And then I found out that he was the director of a film that I had recently seen and thoroughly enjoyed at Cinequest, called 'Outsourced.' I was really happy to get to meet this talented, debut filmmaker and talk about his filmmaking experience. Unlike many white guys who are into India, this guy was really balanced and didn't come across as a hippie freak. Although he was vegetarian ... :-)

Overall, I had a really good time that night, and it made me want to frequent more film festivals ... except next time I want to go with a film of my own.

Sleep Dep

It's my second day in LA and I'm already starting to feel sleep deprived ... I'm not used to waking up when I'm getting less than 8 hrs of sleep (more like 10) ... Yesterday was a fruitful day ... I did 1/2 hr of Kathak (and abs!), worked with Jag, ate healthy, hung out at Shilpa didi's for dinner, and came back and worked with Jag till 2:30 am. I'm sore today, both in my legs and my abs.
Now I just can't let the feeling of sleep deprivation take over.

Seeing Simran was a lot of fun. She was so excited to see me and Shashank arrive, and welcomed me with a big hug. She also quickly noticed the shopping bag in my hands and got her hands into it. And then she got into a photo session mood, and kept posing for pictures on my lap. I showed her a photograph on my camera display, so she learned to come to see the display after each and every picture. She's also at that parrot stage, where she repeats anything you say. It's really cute ... I'm glad that I got to see her just two months after the last time I saw her. Hopefully she'll remember who her Antara Mausi is :-)

'Provoked' Premiere at the Indian Film Festival

I am quite impressed with the well organized and smoothly run Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. Red carpet, a lot of press, smoothly run, with people and drivers, constantly guiding and leading you in the right direction. Definitely a lot more organized than other Indian events and premieres I've seen in the past ... not that I've seen that many.


We got there and Jag was immediately swamped by the press. I hung out with Chandra aunty and other familiar faces I saw from the past -- some family friends of the Mundhras, other actors and crew I knew from previous films, and even a random friend from college. Nandita Das arrived, looking elegant as always, in a cream and gold sari. Nicholas Irons also came to support the film, with Sandra Teles. Thinking back at it ... I think Nick spent more time chatting with us than actually on the red carpet.

We went in for the opening of the film. Jag was introduced while we waited at the side. He spoke a little about the film, and his 27 year journey as a filmmaker. He went on to introduce Nandita, Nick, myself, and Uzma, inviting us on stage. After this we left, and actually didn't even get to watch the film, since the show was so sold out that we had to give up our seats. I don't think any of us particularly minded since we've all seen the film several times.

So we just hung out at the bar until the screening was over. My friend and I wanted to catch the reaction of the crowd when the film finished, but didn't make it into the theater at the end. I stood outside the theater, trying to listen to people's passing comments about the film. That didn't help. Finally, I just poked my nose into the audience poll basket ... it was filled with mainly 'goods' and a few 'greats.' I saw a 'poor,' and wondered who that was. That was the closest assessment I could get to the crowd reaction. Basing it on what people come and tell you is hardly indicative of the whole crowd ... those people who didn't like the film aren't going to come up and tell you that it sucked.


Afterwards we were guided to the Ivar, where the afterparty was. A really nice, big club, that I've never been to before. There was an area set aside for Provoked cast & crew, so we mainly hung out there. Free food, free drinks, decent company ... all in all it was a fun night. And, of course, the thing that made the night the best was the fact that the response of the film had been positive.

Nervousness?

I'm suddenly feeling nervous and anxious about the next three months ahead of me. I've become so accustomed to living my relaxed lifestyle out here; it's hard to change gears all of a sudden. I also have no doubt that as soon as I see Jag, I'll be back to my other 'normal' self, but I can't help but feel anxious nonetheless.
A lot is going to happen in the next three months; each day will be filled with many ups and downs, frustrations, accomplishments that often tend to feel overshadowed by other upcoming issues. Overall, it's an emotional roller coaster. And the lack of sleep doesn't help. But I'm psyching up for it ... this year is going to be more eventful than I had ever thought it would be!

Hindi Blogging

Apparently, now you can blog in Hindi. And it's not like that old style complicated keyboard which requires a manual to understand. Unfortunately, it's not supported by Macs.

The best Hindi font I had seen was during the Dot-Com boom. There was a new email service called langoo.com. It supported writing emails in about 12 different languages, six of which were Indian languages. And it was the simplest transliteration I had ever seen. You pretty much wrote words out phonetically, and it had simple rules for different sounds ... such as the 't' in 'tasveer' versus the 't' in 'tamatar.' I actually taught myself how to read and write Punjabi from that website.

Alas, the stock market busted, and Langoo disappeared. I hope this blogger Hindi font is as easy to use as Langoo was.

To-Do List

These next few days are going to fly by. I can think of a dozen things I need to do before I leave:
1) sign tax papers, 2) deposit & send checks, 3) close bank acct, 4) go to appt with florist, 5) look at photographer's work, 6) book the photographer, 7) book tickets & hotel for beautician and pandit for the wedding, 8) buy stamps, 9) get a haircut, 10) pick up pants from the dry cleaners, 11) send film for development, 12 )complete & print out address labels for wedding invitations, 13) buy mom & dad's India tickets.

I'll probably think of a few more as I try to go to sleep. I'm excited about heading out to London. Really looking forward to starting a new film. Today I let Jag (my boss) know that I would have to go to India for a few days in the beginning of May, and he was ok with it ... which is a big relief for me. Now I'm ready to tackle the project ahead of me. Inshallah, all will go well.

Wrong Question

Everyone in the media seems to be obsessed with the upcoming Aishwarya-Abhishek wedding. That's expected -- it's one of the biggest weddings of the decade. But what pisses me off more is the fact that the media keeps posing the same question 'Is Aishwarya going to quit films after marriage?'

I mean, c'mon, puh-leez! This is not the 1970's when Jaya Bhaduri decided that it was improper for a married woman to be working in films, and left her booming career to be a housewife, and later raise their children. All Indian actresses in this day and age continue to work after marriage: Kajol, Karisma Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit; albeit, in limited quantity, but that's a personal choice. It's quite foolish to even pose that as an issue. In fact, even Jaya Bachchan has come back to work in films, so it really is not an issue of 'impropriety' anymore, is it?

So asking whether or not Aishwarya Rai is going to quit films is the wrong question. What's a more pertinent in this day and age is 'Will Aishwarya Rai change her name to Aishwarya Bachchan after marriage?'

Hold up ... this isn't the no-brainer that the Bollywood 'film fraternity' would tell you it is. I'm sure most of Bollywood feels that having the 'Bachchan' label is a matter of prestige; almost like being marked as royalty -- so why wouldn't you take the last name? But Aishwarya Rai is an international figure. In the last 10 years, she has established herself -- her brand name -- as Aishwarya Rai. Is she ready to change the name that she has become famous with, to something else?

My guess is she won't. In our society, it has become quite acceptable for women to keep their maiden names. Because of that acceptability, there is reluctance on the part of many women to go through the hassle of changing their names (social security, license, passport, credit cards, etc.) ... not to mention the emotional attachment you harbor for the name. It's your name after all; the quintessence of your identity at a glance, and beyond. I personally feel that you really have to be crazy in love with someone to change such a huge part of who you are for them. I'm not saying I don't think Aishwarya loves Abhishek enough ... who am I to know such a thing or make such a claim? I just don't think she'll do it. She's Aishwarya Rai. She's not just a Bachchan bahu, and she'll make sure people know it.

Result: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. A 'happy medium' that actually leaves neither side satisfied.