Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World

Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World








Reviewed by
Raj S. Rangarajan

NEW YORK: A tongue-in-cheek breezy short film that has spoof written all over it from the title to the content to the final scene. Whether one is American or Canadian, Indian or Pakistani, if you have a sense of humor and can laugh at yourself, you will enjoy the movie.

Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World is the story of what happens when the U.S. Government sends stand-up comic and actor Albert Brooks (Lost in America, Taxi Driver, 1976) to India and Pakistan to find out what makes the over 300 million Muslims laugh. Fred Thompson, former senator from Tennessee who now plays a judge on NBC’s one-hour television show Law & Order, who plays himself, suggests that Brooks should help in a diplomatic effort for the State Department. The carrot for Brooks: possibility of a Medal of Freedom from the President though the downside is, he has to produce a 500-page report for the U.S. government. The film is a comedic view of America’s approach toward other cultures.

Accompanied by two state department employees Stuart (John Carroll Lynch – Dinner with Friends, The Drew Carey Show) and Mark (Jon Tenney – Crime & Punishment, Buying The Cow), Brooks lands in Delhi and after some preliminary interviews, appoints Maya (Sheetal Sheth – ABCD, American Chai) as his assistant for the project. Brooks launches his quest by asking people on the street, “What makes you laugh?” With responses that hover between pathetic and lukewarm (one Indian woman tells Brooks, “Don’t touch me!”), and since he does not find any comedy clubs in India the comedian decides to hold a show – the Big Show – in Delhi.

Brooks later drives into what is supposed to be Pakistan in a clandestine, nocturnal meeting arranged by Stuart and Mark where he continues his quest. It’s all very spooky and hilarious when brawny Pakistanis wait for the punch lines. The audience waits with trepidation if Brooks is likely to be assaulted. To add to the intrigue Brooks has a meeting with the newspaper Al Jazeera. Scenes at the newspaper office and at the Immigration Department in Delhi are authentic through it is tough to believe that so many people in the Big Show audience put up straight faces when Brooks tried to make people laugh. The Pakistan border crossing resembled a temporary fence in your backyard. Some throwaway lines identify Brooks as the “Kissinger of comedy” while someone clarifies, Muslim is not a fabric.

Whether you are Muslim, Jewish or Hindu or whatever your faith, it doesn’t matter as long as you do not take the movie seriously. Where satire does not hesitate to touch on religion or politics and where contemporary events can be approached with a tinge of humour, director, writer and actor Albert Brooks has done a fairly good job.

To a question on how difficult it was to get permission to shoot a movie in India, Brooks responded, “I met with government officials, told them the story, gave them a 45-page outline” but “what they don’t like is when films make fun of their traditions or religions.” To shoot in a mosque in Delhi, Brooks had to meet with the Imam. The crew shot at the Taj Mahal too. “It was a great challenge having 800 people a foot away from your lens staring into the camera,” says Brooks. In India there were no street closures or block lock-ups to help secure a location. Producer Herb Nanas (Rocky III, Eye of the Tiger) says, “You can’t stop life in India, and whether it is people – or in some extreme cases, cows, elephants or monkeys – moving through your shot, we had to incorporate them into the scene and embrace the uniquely crowded environment.”

While some Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans and others that constitute the South Asian diaspora may not be on the same wavelength as Americans when it comes to America-based humor, an English-knowing moviegoer is likely to enjoy the farce. It depends on how many of us do laugh at ourselves? Shorts such as Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World would definitely help – specially after 9/11 – if we have open minds and as long as religion does not obsessively sway the equation.

In the finale Brooks is dressed in a typically Indian silk crème coloured tunic with gold sequined trim over matching pants and beaded Indian slippers. His return to his roots in stand-up comedy was perhaps a historic moment for him personally, specially with his dummy Danny also ranting in sartorial unison.

Albert Brooks wrote, directed and stars in Looking for Comedy in a Muslim World, a Warner Independent Pictures release.

[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, travel and lifestyles and reviews books, films and plays for media based in New York, California, Toronto, and India.]

Asian Art Totals Soar At Christie’s Hong Kong

by Raj S. Rangarajan


NEW YORK—Asian art auctions set another round of records at Christie’s Hong Kong in late November. Auctions held Nov. 27-30 included Chinese ceramics, classical Chinese paintings, calligraphy, works of art and 20th century Chinese art. An overall sales record of $US139 million (HK$1.08 billion) was set for lots that included Asian art, jewelry and watches.
Asserting the strength of the market in Asia and specifically Hong Kong, Edward Dolman, CEO, Christie’s International, said, “We have surpassed the HK$1 billion mark—the first time any auction house in Asia has achieved this for a series of sales.” Of the total, $100.6 million pertained to Asian art.
Chinese ceramics made $31.79 million, with three pieces setting records: An Imperial embellished cloisonné enamel butter-tea jar, cover and stand, Qianlong period (1736-1795), went to Littleton & Hennessy, New York, for $1.39 million.
Sales of 20th-century Chinese art totaled $22.51 million and registered three artists’ records at auction, including: Four Nudes (from the collection of the Yageo Foundation in Taiwan), by Sanyu (Chang Yu, 1901-66), which sold for $2.12 million at twice the high estimate; Artist Self Portrait, by Pan Yuliang (1895-1977), which brought $1.25 million, more than twice the high estimate; and Autumn, by Chu Teh-Chun (Zhu Dequn, b. 1920), which took $962,000. All three works were bought by private Asian collectors.
Eric Chang, senior director, modern and contemporary Asian pictures, and head of 20th-century Chinese art, said the sale “demonstrates the growing confidence in this exciting market and is a testament to Hong Kong’s role as a leading sale center for Chinese contemporary art.”
Modern and contemporary Chinese paintings earned $21.41 million. A picture by Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), Water Bamboo Village, was the top seller at $612,560, slightly above the high estimate of $516,000.
Modern and contemporary Southeast Asian art totaled $5.58 million. The top artist in this category was Indonesian Lee Man Fong (1913-1988), for his Rojak seller, which fell for $510,640, above the high estimate. A record was set for Filipino artist Carlos V. Francisco (1913-1969) when his Magpupukot (Pulling in the Net) was acquired for $187,200.

Three Hilarious Comics At Intense, New York

(L-R) Nishi Nagpal (organizer), performers Jim Dailakis, Larry Thompson, Sugar Sammy
and Ravi Siddharth, an up-and-coming comic who emceed the event and Aash Shravah, CEO, Intense

Entertainment

Raj S. Rangarajan

NEW YORK: Whether you are plain bored or slightly under the weather or just need a pick-me-up made famous by Wodehouse character Jeeves, to revive your spirits, a stand-up comic’s creative outpourings could help. For several decades, the art of the stand-up has been berated or celebrated, depending on who’s talking. Hollywood and Broadway have always provided juicy fodder for the likes of Jack Benny and Jackie Mason to Johnny Carson and Jay Leno who have provided comedy routines as staple entertainment.

A recent event hosted by Aash Shravah, CEO of Intense Comedy in Manhattan, New York featured three comics – Sugar Sammy, Canadian of Indian origin, Larry Thomson, African-American and Jim Dailakis, an Australian of Greek origin. Older men, the Brits, the Sikhs, teenagers, and other stereotypes were targets.

Today, the younger generation of Indian-Americans and other ethnic groups are exposed to localized ethnic and stereotyped humour that is capable of laughing at themselves without feeling offended – something the 50-pluses could never do. Names such as Russell Peters, an Indian based in Canada, Vijai, a lady comic whose parents are originally from South India and Daniel Nainan whose is half-Malayalee and half- Japanese, have been performing to standing-room-only audiences.

Sammy rocked the 200-odd crowd with his provocative wit and cultural comebacks. Larry had his audience in stitches when he spoke of black women from South America and Jim carried the day with his imitation of a kangaroo hop. Each of them derived his energy and enthusiasm from the participatory and appreciative audience. Sammy said, “When the audience is participating I love it. I love ad-libbing and improvising on the spot. However, I also write a lot of material.”

Sugar Sammy acquired his nickname from a sorority at McGill University in Montreal. Of Punjabi origin, when asked his real name, Sammy said, “I’d rather not say because I get a lot of death threats from the people via telephone e-mails and in person.”

An actor and full-time comic, Sammy says, “I think its something I naturally knew that I had but I think what triggered it was watching Eddie Murphy’s “Delirious” when I was nine years old.”

Sammy, who is fluent in French as well, said, he will be performing in Quebec, and also plans to tour France, Belgium and Switzerland soon. To a question if he ever makes fun of politicians such as American President Bush or Canadian Prime Minister Martin, Sammy said, “I think when you write material it has to come from the heart. I’m not really interested in politics right now but I’m sure it’ll come in a few years.”





To a question if he preferred a particular ethnic group as a target at his performances, Sammy responded, “I grew up in an environment where everybody got along and understood each other. Montreal is very cool like that. Indians are just the same as all the other ethnicities. Once you start believing that they are not that way you fool yourself into censoring your material to fit them. Be yourself and Indians will respond just as well as anyone else.”

Larry Thompson majored in psychology with a minor in theatre at San Francisco State University and has been doing stand-up since 1999. His inspiration for stand-up comedy actually started when “I was eight years old and I saw how my grandmother used to laugh at the Three Stooges on television. One day our television broke, so I started doing comedy to amuse my grandmother and my three younger brothers.”

Larry feels, he constantly learns from each ethnic groups and says, he has a weakness for Indian spicy foods. He is happy that “in my years of doing stand-up, I have never met an audience that I didn't like. I find the Indian people, both as an audience and as individuals, to be fascinating. When I'm on stage, my goal is to have fun. So I have subjects that I do draw from, such as talking about marriage, dating and the like.” His favorite comedians are Robin Williams and Jonathan Winters from whom, he learned the art of ad-libbing while on stage.”

Jim Dailakis, born to Greek parents in Australia, currently lives in New York and has been doing stand-up full-time for nine years now. Being an Aussie in America is a significant part of his act like the imitation of a kangaroo hop on stage. He talks about relationships, love, and mimics movie stars just as readily as he switches from American to Australian accent.

He also does radio voiceovers and prank calls. Jim who considers myself an actor first and a comedian second, went to school in Australia. He studied at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in New York City and writes screenplays. “I've written four screenplays and one of them now has a distributor, a director who's worked with Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe.”

Confesses Jim, “I'm not really sure what inspired me to become a standup comedian but I'm sure brain damage had a lot to do with it! It really was by accident but the adrenaline rush and the overwhelmingly incredible feeling I get making people laugh is a fix I definitely got used to and love.”

Jim calls Indian audiences “fantastic.” I'm not just saying that but I found that they are extremely responsive and have a very similar feel to Greek audiences. I think it's the strong family bond that our cultures are known for. Having said that, I think it's also quite funny that if a joke is really good they'll respond magnificently but if it's not that great the silence can be deafening!”

Adds Jim, “I grew up with so many Asians in Australia who are still friends so I feel like I have somewhat of a beat to the culture. He says, Australians are also a great audience, specially those who live in cities. They are very attentive and most patient. They will wait forever if they have to wait for you to get to the punch line.

Jim says, “I really love doing this. Sometimes, I don't think an audience realizes that they are doing just as much for me as I'm doing for them. Seeing a whole room full of people smiling and laughing is an unbelievable feeling. It's an incredible high.”

Jim’s site: www.comedianjim.com

Rahul Siddharth, an up-and-coming stand-up who warmed up the crowd at the recent Intense show, started by declaring, “Punjabis could be considered the Irish of Asia.”

[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, travel and lifestyles and reviews books, films and plays for media based in New York, California, Toronto, India and Australia.]

Warrior – Perhaps Not for the Masses -- Film Review

Raj S. Rangarajan



Sunita Sharma & Irfan Khan (Photo courtesy of Miramax Films)






Irfan Khan (Photo courtesy of Miramax Films)





You have perhaps seen it all: the macabre, the bizarre, violent beheadings and other cruel acts in the name of drama and cinematic effect. Directors offering brutality and revenge, horror and suspense – as themes, have perhaps also enthralled you. Today, even children, who are constantly exposed to so many violent scenes on the home television screen or on cinema, seem blasé.

Somehow Warrior is different and powerful. Part of the reason is the male lead’s personality portrayed superbly by Irfan Khan (Maqbool, Charas) and secondly, thanks are due to writer-director Asif Kapadia’s directorial brilliance blended with Roman Osin’s creative genius behind the camera. Osin treats Rajasthan’s vast desert expanse with scorpions, anacondas – the undulating dunes and ancient forts at 120 degrees temperature – like his backyard and manages to make the viewer feel reassured when admiring the lush greens of himalayan Himachal Pradesh.

Lafcadia (Khan), a skilled Rajput is ruthless, capable and efficient. A local chieftan (Anupam Shyam) uses Lafcadia to carry out savage punishments, beheadings and raids of villages: scenes reminiscent of the 19th century when such killings were commonplace. One day, while being involved in a bloody massacre, Lafcadia decides to give up his violent ways. In a sudden meeting with a young girl (Sunita Sharma) who has been friendly with his son (Puru Chhibber), Lafcadia decides to change. He prays at a local shrine, drops his sword and decides never to kill again. While he vows to change, the warlord was not about to let Lafcadia go.

If you like grit, manliness, strength and leadership in your films you will like this Warrior. Khan follows his sense of duty before becoming a dissident, and soon his conscience takes over. The movie depicts one man trying to change his own life beyond vengeance and Lafcadia, who lives in a harsh world, is keen on becoming a better person – a better father. It caters to a certain kind of genre – and as co-screenwriters Tim Miller and Kapadia say, the source for the story came from a Japanese folk tale wherein a young man training to be a samurai, is shown a severed head and its significance. Warrior probes a similar query as to why this warrior decides to give up the life of killings.

Kapadia has preferred to pick non-actors for some roles “because they’re more likely to have stronger faces and looks…non-professional actors can get across so much information without saying a word.” One such non-professional he picked was Annuddin who, in playing the role of Biswas, has to hunt down Lafcadia and bring back his head. Another novice that the British director selected was Noor Mani, picked up from an Indian shelter for homeless kids who play a street-smart thief.

With his own son being killed at the behest of the warlord, Lafcadia takes on Mani as a friend who accompanies him on his flight for peace and freedom. In a soft scene, Lafcadia shows his human touch when he mischievously moves the eating plate away from Mani.

Osin won the Technical Achievement Award for cinematography at the British Independence Film Awards. Kapadia, raised in Hackney in East London, who reportedly took up directing quite by chance, has managed to turn ordinary villagers into actors and it is particularly creditable since its his directorial debut. His graduate film – The Sheep Thief, when he was studying at The Royal College of Art in London, won the Jury Prize at Cannes and the Grand Prix at the European Short Film Festival in Brest.

Irfan Khan, who has appeared in the Bollywood erotic mystery Rog, received a fellowship to study at the National School of Drama, and is slated to appear in Mira Nair’s The Namesake based on a bestseller by Jhumpa Lahiri.

In the final analysis, one is tempted to ask: Did the movie have a purpose? Was it entertainment? Was it history? Was it anger? Was it duty? Or, was it a combination of all of the above? The violence and angst of the portrayals are so intense that a viewer will either tolerate the movie or reject it completely.

But, then aren’t so many films these days polarizing?

[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, travel and lifestyles and reviews books, films and plays for media based in New York, California, Toronto, India and Australia.]

$147M Asian Sales Leave Past Records in the Dust

by Raj S. Rangarajan


NEW YORK—Asian art sales held in Hong Kong last month continued to break auction records across a range of genres, including Chinese ceramics, contemporary Chinese art and Southeast Asian and modern Indian paintings, including contemporary art.
Christie’s achieved a total of $89.6 million in auctions held May 29-30. Chinese ceramics and works of art yielded about a third of that figure at $30.96 million. On May 29 Christie’s also sold pieces from the Yageo Foundation, Taiwan: 28 major contemporary Chinese artworks that netted $8.26 million and set several artist records.
Sotheby’s sales from May 1-2 totaled $57.57 million, topped, as at Christie’s, by Chinese ceramics and works of art that fetched a total of $33.32 million.
Commenting on Sotheby’s highest sales ever in Hong Kong, Henry Howard-Sneyd, managing director, Sotheby’s China, Southeast Asia and Australasia, said, “The unprecedented prices achieved, particularly in the fine art auctions, affirm the strength of the market.”
At Sotheby’s a new world record was set for Qing porcelain when London dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi won a rare celadon-glazed reticulated hexagonal vase with seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-95) for $5.76 million.
An auction record was set for Chinese artist Xie Zhiliu when his hanging scroll in ink and color on paper Luxuriant Pines fell for $1.16 million to an Asian buyer at 11 times the high estimate.
C.K. Cheung, head of Sotheby’s Chinese paintings department, commented on the “extremely active bidding in the salesroom and on the telephone, and the high participation rate of Asian buyers who are willing to pay high prices for the best items in the sale.” Three works by Zhang Daqian figured in the top ten, with his ink-and-color works selling at prices ranging from $489,478/906,099.
Said Evelyn Lin, specialist in Chinese contemporary art at Sotheby’s: “Works from well-known artists Gu Wenda, Wang Guangyi, Xu Bing, Zhang Xiaogang and Lu Ye brought tremendous prices, with frenzied bidding from around the world.” An oil-on-canvas, 11.1.1959, by Zhao Wuji (also known as Zao Wou-ki, b. 1921), realized $733,704; and in the top ten contemporary art prices, Wu Guanzhong had four oils—three on canvas, one on board—each selling at prices ranging from $273,985/475,112, more than three times above the high estimates.
Zhao’s work was recognized again at Christie’s when his triptych Juin-Octobre, 1985, set an auction record for a Chinese oil painting at $2.34 million. Three more paintings by Zhao figured in the top ten, selling at prices ranging from $627,120/889,200.
Additional artists’ records at Christie’s were set for works by Lin Fengmian (1900-91), whose Hamlet, 1940-59, made $947,440, three times the high estimate, and for Chinese artist Cai Guo Qiang (b. 1957), famous for his “gunpowder paintings.” A Certain Lunar-Eclipse (Project for Humankind No. 2), 1991 was picked up by a private buyer for $568,880, well above estimate.
Emphasizing that “three Chinese artists have now achieved prices exceeding $1 million,” Eric Chang, head of Christie’s 20th-century Chinese art department, said, “Chinese contemporary art sold amazingly well, and the section represents a record total for this art area and is a testament to Hong Kong’s role as the leading market for Chinese art and Asian contemporary art.”
Chang added that “the Yageo Foundation collection was 100 percent sold, demonstrating the high quality of the works offered.” In this group three artists set auction records: Liao Chi-Ch’un (Liao Jichun, 1902-76), for The Spanish Chateau ($1.39 million); Sanyu (Chang Yu, 1901-66), for White Chrysanthemum in a Blue & White Jardiniere ($1 million); and Wu Guanzhong (b. 1919), for the picture Village Under Mountain Lau ($627,120).
At Christie’s modern and contemporary Chinese paintings auction, Two Horses Under Pine Trees, by Xu Beihong (1895-1953), established an auction record when it was picked up by a private Asian buyer for $1.26 million, more than twice the high estimate. In this group too, Fengmian’s Admiring the Maple Wood was bought for $568,880; and Mount Jinggang, by Li Keran (1907-89), went for $452,400, as did Gathering Beside the Waterfall, by Fu Baoshi (1904-65).
The top paintings from the Southeast Asian section of contemporary art featured an international sampling of artists from Belgium, India, the Netherlands, Indonesia and the Philippines. The works all fetched above-estimate prices.
Ruoh-Ling Keong, head of Christie’s Southeast Asian pictures department, and Yamini Mehta, head of Christie’s modern Indian and contemporary art, stated, “We are thrilled with the very good results across the board and delighted to see the successful cross-marketing of this sale, which demonstrates Indian clients bidding for Southeast Asian works and vice versa.” Woman by the Lotus Pond, by a Belgian Impressionist, Adrien-Jean le Mayeur de Merpres (1880-1958), brought $379,600; Untitled, by Maqbool Fida Husain (b. 1915), realized $218,400; and Trishna, by Syed Haider Raza (b. 1922), fell to a private American buyer for $218,400.

DesiClub SAMA Awards Debut in Manhattan

Raj S. Rangarajan

NEW YORK: Move over Oscars and Golden Globes, its now time for Desi Club Awards in New York.
The Event: SAMA 2005 South Asian Media Awards – organized by DesiClub.com and Intense Management.
Purpose: To recognise outstanding individuals or organizations in the South Asian community for their contribution, talent, performing ability and professionalism.
Location: Miller Theater at Columbia University, Manhattan, NY. Awardees were chosen by online voting somewhat similar to Fox’s American Idol program on mainstream television.


Performer Tina Sugandh



Saroosh Gull, CEO of DesiClub.com described the club as the South Asian Media Source: the gathering point for millions of South Asians interested in music, bollywood, parties and the community. Co-organizer, Aash Shravah CEO of Intense Management is responsible for marketing and management. Gull says, “the club hopes to “continuously push the envelope past preconceived notions the South Asian community has of its available opportunities.”

Performer Raghav

In Hollywood-style, a real red carpet adorned the floor and television cameras including MTV and paparazzi were seen jostling for attention with desi celebrities. Acceptance speeches were part of the deal as also a Pre-Party and an After Party for all attendees at Viscaya Lounge in Chelsea, which were well-patronized by the younger set as evidenced from the images on the club’s web site.

It was an evening of scintillating performances by bhangra specialist Bikram Singh and Ontario’s RnB singer Sumeet, reverberating moves by Detroit’s Hip Hop kingpin Kidd Skilly and company, and resonating sounds from singer and tabla expert Tina Sugandh. On occasion the 400-plus crowd cheered lustily and sometimes without reason. While subtle and humorous emcees suave Shiv Vydyula and Ashiq Abbas need to forge their entertaining skills on the anvil of practice.

Ninety nominees vied for awards in twenty categories. Among unusual categories were DJ of the Year (Rekha), Recognition in Theater or production (Geeta Citigirl), Favorite Radio Personality (Ashish Patel of NiteLifeRadio) and South Asian Lifestyle Magazine of the Year (Anokhi Vibe).


Sheetal Sheth (American Desi)




As expected Kal Penn bagged the Best Actor award and Mira Nair was Outstanding Director. Shetal Shah was named Best Actress for Arya, playing a villain in an innovative psychological thriller written/directed by Manan Singh Katohora and produced by Tirlok Malik, founder of the NRI TV Film Club that debuted last December.

Photo: Kamal Dandona and Saroosh Gull



Hotel owner Vikram Chatwal was named Entrepreneur of the Year; oldest newspaper in North America Indian Abroad won as Outstanding News Publication; Hari Sreenivasan, anchor, ABC News Now was named Noteworthy Journalist. Anand Jon was also a shoo-in for Favorite Fashion Designer and Best Model of the Year was Saira Mohan.

Congressman Bobby Jindal from Louisiana won for Outstanding political leadership; Canadian Russell Peters (of Indian origin) was voted Favorite South Asian Comedian. Aashna Patel, who also sang the American national anthem was Favorite Television Personality and, Raghav, the current rave among desis, won as Outstanding Contemporary Artist who also performed. Raghav said, “sometimes, we have to be recognised by the mainstream media before one’s own community does. This time it was different.”

The nominating committee that finalized the votes comprised accomplished folk in the performing arts and fine arts, film directors, journalism, and alternative media. The whole process was supervised by a CPA.

[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, travel and lifestyles and reviews books, films and plays for media based in New York, California, Toronto, India and Australia.]