This Weekend’s Film Festival Celebrates The Indian Invasion

With Oscar-winning Best Picture SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE now on DVD, This Weekend's Film Festival looks at the increasing influence of Indian culture on international cinema. Danny Boyle brings an outsider's point of view to an Indian set tale, but Gurinder Chandha and Mira Nair have been bringing a strong Indian point of view to English-language films, as well as stories similar to SLUMDOG. Cook up some sag aloo and naan, pour a cup of chai or some bangers & mash and a pint (Boyle is British so you have to follow through with all the cultural stereotypes) and enjoy a collection of films that have a bit of humor, a bit of drama, a bit of song, a whole lot of excitement.

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE was a critic darling since its debut at the Toronto Film Festival. Danny Boyle's inspiring take of an Indian street kid's improbable success on the Indian version of WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? is like a virtual tour of the clash between the old and new elements of the growing country. As I said in my original review, "Mix Charles Dickens with the Brazilian gangster film CITY OF GOD and sprinkle a Bollywood epic all over it and you’ll get a sense of the flavor of this film." We watch as the young orphaned Jamal survives the harsh streets with his wanna-be gangster brother Salim, while continuously crossing paths with his one true love Latika. Played as late teens by Dev Petal and Freido Pinto, Jamal and Latika became one of the sweetest screen romances of all time. Boyle's electric direction propels the film as it cuts across storylines and years, creating a grand tale rooted in the honesty of characters that we relate to and care for. And the innovative use of subtitles makes the film easy to follow for the subtitled adverse. Powered by an infectious soundtrack, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is not only moving but an exciting piece of entertainment that has something for everyone.

Gurinder Chandha’s BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM is another crowd pleaser with an Indian flavor. This time Jess (Parminder K. Nagra) rebels against her traditional parents so she can follow her dream of playing soccer. The film introduced Keira Knightley to the world as Jess’s tomboyish best friend whose mother, played brilliantly by Juliet Stevenson, is afraid that her daughter’s sports obsession means she might be a lesbian. Played not as an indictment of traditional values, the film works more as the culture clash between conservative values of Indian immigrants and the more liberal culture of Britain. Nagra’s Jess is a modern young woman while her older sister embraces the Indian traditions. Within this story, Chandha also develops a compelling love triangle between Jess, Knightley’s Jules and their coach Joe, played by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. As I said in my original review, “This film is one of the best sports films that has come out in years and may be one of the best female sports films ever made… Don’t let the title scare you off, you don’t have to know more than ‘balls going into nets is good’ to enjoy this film.

Like she did with Knightley, Chadha introduced the world to Indian superstar Aishwarya Rai in BRIDE & PREJUDICE. The gorgeous former Miss World plays Lalita in this modern twist on Jane Austen’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. In this Bollywood rendition, with lively song and dance numbers, the story remains the same. Mr. and Mrs. Bakshi want to marry off their daughters. While visiting India, the rich Balraj Bingley, played by LOST’s Naveen Andrews, sets his eyes on the oldest Jaya (Namrata Shirodkar), leaving Lalita the next in line to marry. Of course the last person she could fall for would be Bingley’s snooty American best friend Will Darcy (Martin Henderson). Like a traditional Bollywood film, this English-language romance has a bit of everything from music to drama. As I said in my original review, “It’s a fun and colorful date movie that throws something really intelligent in when you least expect it.” For audience members unaccustomed with traditional films from Bollywood, the biggest movie producer in the world, then this is a great place to start.

Adapted from Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel, Mira Nair’s THE NAMESAKE chronicles two generations of an Indian family as the parent immigrate to U.S. and try to balance raising their kids to traditional Indian values surrounded by American culture. SLUMDOG’s Irfan Khan wonderfully plays Ashoke Ganguli, an Indian who takes the chance to move to the U.S., but returns to India to have an arranged marriage. His new bride Ashima (Tabu) is completely unprepared for the cultural change. Ashoke names his son Gogol, played by Kal Penn, after his favorite writer. Gogol, who goes by Nick, rejects Indian traditions, but is inspired to take up architecture during a trip to the Taj Mahal. In college, he meets the rich white girl Max (Jacinda Barrett), and seems to be distancing himself from his parents’ values even more. As the characters develop over time, universal issues about raising families and the generational divide make way to issues that touch on the unique challenges of immigrants. As I said in my original review, “In THE NAMESAKE, Nair shows us that despite the many differences between general American culture and Indian culture there are many common experiences. It’s a powerful story not because it’s Indian, but because it’s human.”

We close This Weekend’s Film Festival with the film that made Nair’s career SALAAM BOMBAY! This 1988 film is the original slumdog story of Indian street kids trying to survive on their own. Like Boyle’s SLUMDOG, Nair uses real street kids to portray the characters in this film. With her writing partner Sooni Taraporevala, she developed the script from the lives of these children who deal with violence, drug addiction and sexual slavery on a daily basis. In BOMBAY, Krishna (Shafiq Syed) becomes a child of the street when he is left behind after the circus he worked moved on without him. He travels to Bombay where he gets a job delivering tea and bread, which becomes his new name -- Chaipau. Krishna is hopeful that he can save 500 rupee and return to his home village. However, the temptations and hardships of the slums will try even the most optimistic young soul. Krishina will try to help a drug addicted friend and a 16-year-old sex slave, but pimps like Baba undermine his good intentions. Nair filmed BOMBAY within the actual ghettos of Bombay, giving this powerful drama an authentic feel. As I said in my recent review, “[SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and SALAAM BOMBAY!] share a great deal in common, only presented with opposite tones. As much as SLUMDOG uplifts an audience, SALAAM devastates.

To take this cinematic trip to India all you have to do is visit the videostore, update the Netflix queue, check out Zap2It.com for TV listings, or support the site by buying the films on DVD at the links below.