Kal ho na ho is having very cheap level comedy and u would be surprised whether u r watching a " Karan Johar" movie or "David dhavan" movie. The film can not be watched along with ur family members. The songs written by Javed akhtar r also too bad (except title song) & having too many english words. Can't he find Hindi words to form a song. So I would not reccomand this movie to anyone.
The feelings of the author is understood . I think it is more of a misconception about how people consider Bollywood movies. Our movies are larger than life images, and we take pleasure in watching them , to escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life. I dont see anything wrong in Pretty Zinta jogging from Queens to Brooklyn everyday..it might be possible, if i can accept the fact that Arnold can take a Jetfighter and make it work like an helicopter.
Regarding personalities, i guess our author should watch the movies produced by Indian American desi's ( ABCD,green card fever etc ) where u can see an Indian guy (coming from india) always needs to be stupid wearing strange dresses,always the wrong accent. So , i think in that way we dont make fun of the NRI's in our Bollywood movies...that should be enough to leave the authour contended with what has been shown.
so the indo americans are pretty upset about the misinterpretation of the lots living in NY. but why? whats the big deal! Indian movies perenially are devoid of any logic! who cares as to where the heroine/hero jog or walk or whatever. havent you indian newyorkers seen american movies shot in india. their interpretation of the ancient land is just as unrealistic. so could we just stop fussing over the trivialities of indian movie presentation and sit back and enjoy the songs and the dances and the lovely scenes.
I was a little surprised to read Ms.Venkatramani's rather emotional write-up. I always treat hindi movies as a medium for fun, escapist 2 1/2 hours. Does realism make it more enjoyable? Sure it does. But would it bother me enough to write a 1000 word column if the hero boards bus no.21 instead of no.20. Heck, no! As far as stereotypes are concerned, how different is Hollywood? The critically acclaimed Lost in translation had so many non-PC Japanese jokes. I can quote a 100 other movies that make fun of cultural typecasts. The point it does'nt matter as long as they are in good humour. In fact, make fun of my Indian-american friends about the way they gel their hair. They make fun of my peacock-green jacket. The bottomline is stereotypes are funny even in life, as long as u are comfortable with ur identity. And finally.. When was the last time movies, indian or not, depicted lifestyles, indian or not? Do white americans take offense to the decadence portrayed in "American beauty"?
Take it easy,lady. Watch the movie with the spirit it is made. The purpose is not to educate Indian moviegoers about NYC. Remember NYC is the backdrop. Having said that, consider the illogical situations in Kill Bill (A loony moving around in a not-so-obvious vehicle. D-uh!). Is the movie not enjoyable? I don't think so.
PS1: If you wanna learn about India, a few visits outside of movies may be a better idea.
PS2: BTW...your column was a good read. Any reminder of the ferry idea is great.
I'd like to take this opportunity to remind Ms. Venkatramani that the main point behind films is that of entertainment and it is understood that they have an element of what is known as "masala" involved. It is surprising that an educated woman takes this sort of view on something which is aimed at making money and entertaining. I have been in the US for some time now and I realise that when a film depicts someone as taking a ferry to work, the objective is more like making the film more watchable rather than depicting an accurate version of life in NYC.
