MetroPCS’ unfunny commercials

We talked about MetroPCS’ Ranjit Chad tech talk commercial in an earlier post, remarking that there was perhaps some stereotyping of desis going on in this ad. [UD]
Well, the perhaps part has been laid to rest. For some ad execs, Indian-Americans particularly the newer immigrants with their accents and garish (at least from an American [...]

Random Kajol musings

I don’t really #follow celeb tweeple, well maybe a few but you get the idea, and this is perhaps out of boredom from being stuck home on a stormy Friday evening. I was reading this particular quote in this story about Shiv Sena v/s Bollywood stars (yaaaaawn) and came across this particular quote. [IBN]
“We will [...]

“Slumdog Millionaire” effect?

Is there such a thing as the “Slumdog Millionaire” effect? [THR]
Hollywood Reporter … ummmm…. reports on the revival of two new Indian-American themed comedies, “Nevermind Nirvana” on Fox and “Outsourced” on NBC.
The two comedies — “Nirvana” at Fox and “Outsourced” at NBC — have something else in common: They both are ensemble shows about Indians [...]

Gun Markets of Pakistan

Suroosh Alvi, founder of Vice Magazine and VBS.TV, ventures into an area which recently earned the moniker of the “world’s most dangerous area” – the Waziristan tribal area of Pakistan. Pulling some strings, he manages to find a political agent/guide and sets off to visit the world’s largest illegal arms market. Would it be disingenuous [...]

Republic of India@60

60 years ago, when the constitution of India was adopted, our freedom fighters hardly expected the unity to remain fragile 60 years later. We stand united in our love for ‘miley sur mera tumara’ for it’s star value and…wait! Before I can finish my latest news on our unity, there were a few interruptions, mostly [...]

H1 B – new rules, much confusion?

As per this report  in rediff.com, a recent memo dated January 8 from Donald Neufled ,Assistant Director Operations of USCIS specifies that the petitioner for the Visa should be present at the place of work. What one attorney terms as “overzealous interpretation” of the rule by immigration officials at Newark airport resulted in several Indian H1-B [...]

Savita Bhabhi: A tale of free speech, censorship and ingenuity

Savita, every desi guy’s favorite bhabhi, has become a de-facto personification of sorts against the arbitrary censorship standards of the Indian government. [WSJ]
“I’m going to take a shower! You should also change out of those wet clothes,” she greeted a neighbor in a November episode, for example. As expected, the two end up together in [...]

MetroPCS ad

MetroPCS’ latest commercial: Tech & Talk with Ranjit and Chad, takes desi stereotyping to new heights (or depths) with a couple of desi dudes in dorky clothes, thick Borat-like mustaches and accents to boot. The ending is kind of funny though with Chad dancing to techno music.

Haiti is Rajiv Shah’s first major test

On January 12th 2010, Haiti was struck by an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale. The casualties are expected to be in the thousands with more people injured and millions left homeless. [Y!]
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – A major earthquake rocked Haiti, killing possibly thousands of people as it toppled the presidential palace and hillside shanties [...]

Confessions of a shopaholic …..

…. desi ishtyle. Sujatha (Sue) Sachdeva, Koss’s former vice president of finance and secretary, had a penchant for clothing, jewelery and to put it in simpler terms “bling”. However, there is a reason for the use of the word “former vice president”, she reportedly pursued her love for “da bling” with her employer’s money. [MW]
On [...]

I’m back!

Don’t know if any of you even noticed – but I have been away – visiting the matrubhoomi for the last 3 -odd weeks. Some observations and impressions:
- Week 1 was spent visiting assorted relatives. I noticed that the decor in their houses can be divided into 2 categories Style A: Punjabi Barouque ( aka [...]

Condom theft

Desi ishtyle. [BBC]
The Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trusts (HLFPPT) had noble intentions when it rolled out around 3000 condom vending machines in Mumbai.
Over 3,000 condom vending machines have been installed in the city as a part of an HIV Aids prevention programme.
These machines are installed in areas where high risk people like truck drivers [...]

Movie review – 3 Idiots

Raj Kumar Hirani is the bearer of a lost art, the art of story telling. The problem is sometimes, he overlaps his piece of art with another of his own, that is still fresh in your memory.
And I’ll try to keep the review clean of any spoilers.
3 idiots is a movie ‘loosely’ based on one [...]

Jingle Bells – bhangra remix

Blogging is slow these days with our bloggers on vacation either in random locations of the US&A or the glorious nation of Hindustan. But not one to disappoint, we sign off for the holiday break with this little (pardon the pun) jingle.

NBA targets India

India has a weird relationship with basketball. No one really plays basketball, at least not at a competitive level. Most sports not named cricket receive little airtime or publicity. Yet, the NBA somehow has garnered a rabid following among youth in the middle class and above in large cities. Everyone and their appa was a [...]

Glenn Beck’s diatribe on India

Paging the protestor extraordinaire and the saffron clad protector of all things Indian and Hindu – Glenn Beck has insulted the holy Ganges.
MediaMatters has this clip of conservative commentator Glenn Beck launching into a vicious anti-India diatribe just to make an argument in the healthcare debate. Biting sarcasm is one thing but Beck hits an [...]

The price of success

The Star Trek Gandhi post inspired me to look into the other desi on Star Trek – Persis Khambatta.

Persis was a model from Bombay and somehow landed the role of Lt. Ilia in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Here’s the twist, Persis was a model from India with beautiful long locks and the role [...]

Resilience ?

I watched HBO’s documentary “Terror in Mumbai” last week. ( link). the documentary is produced by Dan Reed ( who produced “Terror in Moscow” and directed “Closure”) and narrated by CNN anchor Mumbai – born Fareed Zakaria . Watching the documentary was not a very healthful experience for me – all the old feelings of [...]

The first token desi on American TV

This interesting feature on BBC talks about the recent emergence of actors of South Asian origin in Hollywood and US television shows. For decades, they were relegated to token and stereotypical roles. As recently as a couple of years back, one of the biggest South Asian names, Kal Penn, played the role of a ….. [...]

Indian Fried Rice

The holiday season is here in the US and A and with that commences the seemingly never ending list of potluck parties, not that I’m complaining. At one such potluck in an official setting, some of us volunteered to bring food towards the potluck lunch.
I took the easy way out, I brought salad and dressing [...]