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Rani, Abhishek, and SRK

Rani, Abhishek, and SRK

Much has been made about a possible link-up between Rani Mukherjee and Abhishek Bachchan, two of Bollywood’s biggest stars of the moment. As I’ve mentioned before, Rani is on a hot streak, having had hits with Black (a remake of the Miracle Worker) and the recent Mangal Pandey, as well as lighter fare like Hum [...]

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The Raj of Wankaner

The Raj of Wankaner

As Indian states go, Gujarat has a long way to go before becoming tourist friendly. It may be the homeland of many a global Indian (the Patel clan comes from there), but it’s lacking in some of the things that draw tourists, namely the Taj Mahal and alcohol. Nevertheless, as Gujarat borders on Maharashtra, we [...]

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Mangal Pandey: The Rising

Mangal Pandey: The Rising

No matter what the raging controversy is about the new film about Mangal Pandey, whether it was too harshly anti-British or that Pandey, India’s first so-called freedom fighter, was blasphemously portrayed as a having a relationship with a nautch girl, the picture was a pleasure to watch. I went to the film with approximately 20 [...]

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Death of a Hobra

The first thing I thought of when reading this front-page story in the Times of India today was, “Couldn’t they have let the poor thing live somewhere in the country?” As I’ve said before, animal rights have a long way to go in this country. Full text of the “hobra,” an animal oddity similar to [...]

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I’m Not Bajirao

I’ve often mused at the title of “I’m Not Rappaport,” the play-then-film about two men from varying backgrounds coming to terms with the ravages of old age. Even though I’ve never seen the play or the film, I was always tickled each time the phrase was used as the punchline of any dumb joke. After [...]

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The Rainfall and the Fallout

The Rainfall and the Fallout

Three days after record-breaking rains brought Bombay to a halt, I’m finally beginning to hear about my friends’ and colleagues’ unbelieveable journeys. South Bombay, as I’ve mentioned before, got hit with 7 inches of rain on Tuesday, but, save for the lack of bustle, it looked pretty normal on Wednesday. On the other hand, the [...]

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Monsoon Update #2

Monsoon Update #2

Well, I’m still pretty high and dry here in Bombay. But now I see that the international papers have caught on to our little rain problem. So, it must be a big deal. Actually, it rained about seven inches in 24 hous in South Bombay. The suburbs, on the other hand, got 27 inches of [...]

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Monsoon Update

Monsoon Update

Nine hours later and…it’s still raining! No flooding where I am, but most of the city is shut down. I guess this is the equivalent of a blizzard, so I’ll concede that flooding is inevitable at this point. News about the Monsoon: Maharashtra rains leave many dead [BBC News] Rains bring life to standstill in [...]

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Now That’s What I Call A Monsoon!

I’ve been pretty unimpressed by the monsoon so far. Sure, it came in with a bang. Then again, the flooding has happened mostly in the suburbs, not in the city. In fact, the weather in Bombay has been mostly overcast with occasional sun and sprinkles. The locals said that the rains had “regularized,” meaning that [...]

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Bollywood Memorabilia On View

Bollywood Memorabilia On View

Until last week, visiting museums in this country has been a mostly unsatisfying experience. Luckily, we stumbled upon the last day of a week-long exhibit at the Jehangir Gallery entitled “Revisualising India.” Included in the show were pieces from the Osian’s Archive & Library of Cinema and Popular Arts, an auction house and archive center [...]

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