Wow, so many responses! I'm late in this debate. Anyway, I did find the article interesting and right on for the most part. I totally agree with Anitha about the stereotypical image of the American / Indian American in Bollywood movies. I haven't watched Kal Ho Na Ho but have seen Pardes and know what she's talking about. That said, I don't think geographical errors about New York should be taken seriously.. esp. in an Indian movie making most of its money in India. But the main point remains in how Bollywood (I never understood why people like using this term; it's like we're subsetting ourselves to Hollywood) movie directors depict the West as being all bad and immoral and India as the epitome of pureness and culture. There's good and bad everywhere. In one country it's out in the open because of the general sense of freedom and in the other, it's repressed and behind closed doors. As much as I found Pardes entertaining, I thought the character portrayals were ridiculous. Don't get me wrong. I know it's easy to lose touch with one's roots, thanks to TV and the media. But then you remind Indians of the beauty of our culture. You DON'T put down somebody else's in the process!
Everybody who has never been to US and has second hand knowledge from TV serials or movies based on NRIs, please keep your limited knowledge to urself and give Anita a break.
The idea was not to scorn hindi movies or Indian culture... the idea was just to inform ppl tht depiction of NRIs in hindi movies is wrong. NRIs are not the extreme cases of either good or bad.
Yes, movies in hollywood too show stunts that can be true only in reel life but such movies are of a separate genre unlike movies like Kal Ho Na Ho that show pure nonsense and pass it as a lifestyle of a normal NRI. (And actually has few dumb people believe it!)
Had you pointed out that Sharukh Khan with an iPod on a skateboard is not very realistic ( though one must give credit to the film crew for being well informed on trends here ) I would have agreed. Had you mentioned that Aman ( Sharukh's character )dying earlier would have made the movie more realistic and less emotional, I would have agreed. Your article though talks about skimpy clothes and shots.. when there was just one such shot in the movie.
I don't think the purpose of the movie was to teach American-indians how to live life or party. The message was simple: Preity had problems in life which precluded her from enjoying the little things in life, Aman on the other hand knew that death was just around the corner and wanted to live life to the fullest. Moral of the story: there are people with bigger problems than what you have, so don't worry be happy :)
Did you notice the great music and the enthusiasm in the "Pretty Woman" song ? Did you notice that KHNH was unlike other Indian movies in terms of cinematography and picturization. Did you notice that the "tis the time to disco song" can just pep you up? My advice, chill out njoy life (or get a life?)
RE:The I in NRI is for ''Indian''
by Preeti on Mar 29, 2004 04:32 AM
I truly agree with everything u said "anonymous" This article is complete B.S .... u have pointed out the stupidest things about KHNH .... I mean like come on we can be more mature. Your thinking is so negative ... it's not even funny. And whats up with the name of the article "Who's better: Indians or NRIs" ... all I gotta say is GET A LIFE.
ya...the article started off well...but i dont agree with u...as in the movie wasnt a nonsicle one...n shah rukh khan was the best...theres not a single scene in which he hasnt lived upto our expectations...i think the movie was superb....n the comedy as well..was gr8...!!
I agree with Mr Prajwal. Movies cannot represent the culture and that they are view of an individual person. Anita's view also suggest that one can speak of American culture can be interpreted as the one we see in American movies. There are people who are good and who are bad on all parts of the Globe. I work in New Jersey, I do come across Indian americans who are very reciprocative and nice AND also those hard headed NRI's who speak nothing but ill about the people from India and their..No offenses please ,the later category to my observation are usually the ones who did not have much sucess in the earlier part of their life. Why blame some country or culture if one could not handle hisor her own life. But one thing I agree with Anita is that the movies today are carrying a lot of deragotory stuff and ae picturized with less discerning insight about the NRI s abroad. Good and bad exists everywhere. Lets just take the good and ignore bad
I totally agree with the author regarding the portrayal that we receive from the Indian directors and producers in reflecting our life style in NY or UK for that matter. Though we as the first or second geneartion of settlers we are trying our best to stick to our culture while at the same time we are also trying to imitate the ideals of the west too into our culture. Not everything is bad about the west and not everything is good about India. The dishonesty and lack of integrity that lies in the core of India is never compared to the western values of honesty and integrity. Though I have been in US for 10 years now and have done my schooling and college here, but never ever did I dance around half naked in front of my friends. Though we wear western dress but we do not necessarile wear strapless dresses to imitate the western culture. What I disliked most was Shah Rukh wearing Polo Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger dresses all the time and advising Preeti Zinta how to have fun in NY. If she is qualified enough to go for her MBA she is definitely aware of how fun, needs to be achived without a desi guys advise who comes to NY for the first time.
If you went to watch an Indian movie expecting it to be realistic about American Indians let alone Indian Indians then maybe someone should make a movie about you. Besides it would be unfair to blame Indian movie makers making movies about American Indians in America without looking next door to see what Hollywood directors depict Indians in India. So my advice to you is to stay away from movies and get on with your life.
This is referring an article titled "Who's better, Indians or NRIs? " by Anitha Venkatramani. Indians & NRIs, just how can we compare between these two and on what basis ?.They are born and brought up in different places,their cultures are different so there ought to be differences in their ways of thinking as well. Just watching movies ,how can one get the true glimpse of a culture? And moreover movies are just the veiws of a single person either a director or a producer and they depicts what he wants to show. I think to fully understand a culture one has to live it and share it with the people follwing that culture. I am quite sure that there are a lot many Indians whose views about the NRIs are not based on what the so called "Desi American" fims depicts. Thier views might differ as we Indians have a vast and diverse culture, but believe me most of them have good feelings for NRIs. So ,Anitha, I think comparision between cultures only deepens the gap in between them.We need to have a sharing relationship.
