Nirali Editor on MTV Live Tonight

Are you a long-haired Parveen Babi or a short-tressed Madhuri Dixit? Nirali editor Roxanna Kassam Kara never identified with the straight, silky locks that most Bollywood heroines sported, though she certainly yearned for them in lieu of her curly ‘do. So in “Bollywood’s Mane Attraction,” Roxy explored Bollywood’s hair stereotypes and what they mean for South Asian women. And now, almost two years after that story was published, MTV has come a-knocking.

Roxy will appear tonight on MTV Live, MTV Canada’s flagship show devoted to discussing issues with a live audience. Tonight the show examines hair stereotypes (blonds have more fun, brunettes are boring), and they invited Roxy to talk about her piece.

We’re thrilled to see Roxy represent Nirali on the small screen! While MTV Live’s audience will have a chance to discuss the issue, you can, too. Is there such a thing as a Bollywood hair stereotype? Which movies represent it? Tell us what you think!

All you Canadian readers, you don’t want to miss Roxanna Kassam Kara on MTV Live on MTV Canada tonight at 6 p.m. ET. We’ll report back after the show.

In Short

Penn (Rediff India)

**70 million people. 6 weeks. 3 rivers.

The Kumbh Mela has drawn to a close this year.

Prashant Panjiar, photographer and author of India: The Definitive Images, offers Time magazine readers this photo essay in honor of the 45-day festival in Allahabad.

**Kal Penn will star in ABC’s new comedy, The Call, about a group of Los Angeles paramedics. The Namesake star will play a “hypochondriac and pessimist” on the show, which will also feature actress Kali Rocha (of Grey’s Anatomy fame).

**Amitabh Bachchan continues to make headlines this week, as he heads to Kolkata for the filming of Bengali director Rituparno Ghosh’s first English-language feature The Last Lear. The film will also star Preity Zinta and Arjun Rampal.

**New Yorkers may want to visit the Union Square Barnes and Noble this Monday night at 7PM, where Jhumpa Lahiri and Mira Nair will be talking about The Namesake.

Viewers Not Silent About Nishabd

Photo courtesy of http://www.nishabdthefilm.com/

The film has left many upset. Some are even asking for its lead actor to retire.

Amitabh Bachchan stars in the controversial new movie Nishabd. Earlier this week, protesters lined the streets of his hometown (Allahabad), asking for the film to be banned.

Nishabd, being called the Indian Lolita, is a remake of a classic Bengali film of the same name.

The plot revolves around an aging photographer and his infatuation with a young girl. Its subject matter has left some Indian film-goers feeling uncomfortable. “We’re still very orthodox and conservative about something like this,” says critic Taran Adarsh.

Bachchan insists he is pleased with the movie. “I like my performance, which is quite rare.”

More:
Unauthorized Bachchan biography out in the UK today
Bachchan’s daughter makes her small screen debut
Nishabd film stills

Hooray For Bollywood

Larter and Khan: AliLarterFan.Com

She plays alongside Sendhil Ramamurthy on the hit NBC show Heroes , and soon Ali Larter (Legally Blonde, Varsity Blues) will be coming to a theater near you.

An Indian theater, that is.

Larter, 30, has finished filming the romantic comedy Marigold. The movie, about an American actress who becomes interested in Bollywood, also stars Salman Khan.

“Marigold was my way of bridging the gap between Indian and American cinema” says director Willard Carroll who was first exposed to Bollywood during a trip to Chennai four years ago.

“I returned to the US and made people, in groups of 20, watch films like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Dil Chahta Hai and Hum Saath Saath Hain at my home,” says Carroll. “I was obsessed with the idea of introducing Bollywood to a wider audience.”

Marigold has been screened several times (receiving lukewarm reviews). Anyone seen it yet?

More:
Kavi Ladnier on Heroes!
Ladnier talks to Nirali.
Heroes on NBC

Khan In KBC Hot Seat

It began with a music video starring Shah Rukh Khan (his idea) and continued with trivia questions (standard fare on Kaun Banega Crorepati).

Last night, millions watched Khan’s debut as the host of India’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

Khan, who began his acting career on television, has taken the Crorepati reigns over from another Bollywood great, Amitabh Bachchan.

“Khan came across as a friendly anchor, who high-fived with a contestant when he got the answer right, spoke in another’s native language and even gave a back massage to a third who said he was too nervous,” reports the BBC.

But not everyone enjoyed the debut.

“Shah Rukh persistently tosses us a smirk we haven’t quite deciphered yet. Is this condescension towards these contestants, nervousness, or defiance against the Big B?” asks India’s Rediff.

We’re not sure, but suspect all this could add fuel to the fire of their raging feud.

Check out King Khan’s moves in yesterday’s KBC opening dance number (so hott yaar!):

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Kolbert

Stephen Colbert revisits last week’s decision to side with Shah Rukh Khan in The Colbert Report‘s continuing segment ‘We the MEdiator’:

More:
The Colbert Report
Comedy Central
KKKG
Lal Badshah = Box Office Bomb

King Statue For King Khan

SRK for TAG Heuer

Shah Rukh Khan is to be memorialized in wax.

Starting in April of this year, fans can see his life-size statue at the renowned Madame Tussauds museum in London.

“Khan will take part in a sitting with Tussauds studios’ sculptors next month,” said a spokesperson for the museum.

Khan will be the third Indian actor to be honored. The museum currently has statues of Amitabh Bachchan and, his soon-to-be-daughter-in-law, Aishwarya Rai.

Petty Behavior In Big House

Shilpa Shetty: Metro UK

Last week, we watched on as Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty entered the Celebrity Big Brother house.

Things haven’t been going that well for the Phir Milenge star, and now the show has come under fire amidst complaints that Shetty has been racially bullied by the other contestants.

After receiving over 10,000 complaints from viewers, the British media watchdog (Ofcom) has begun to seriously examine the charges of racism.

According to an AP report, the star, 31, has been “repeatedly reduced to tears” by fellow contestants who have mocked her accent and suggested that, being Indian, she is dirty.

When the actress cooked chicken curry for her housemates recently, contestant Jo O’Meara refused to eat it, saying she didn’t “trust” it and was “scared.” She also did impressions of Shetty’s accent and protested that the actress had “touched housemates’ food with her hands” (to which fellow contestant Danielle Lloyd replied that “they eat with their hands in India…you don’t know where her hands have been“).

Read the rest of this entry »

Brett and Bhosle Bowl Over Fans

Cricketer Brett Lee has made quite a hit, but this time it’s off the field.

The Australian fast bowler’s duet with Indian legend Asha Bhosle, is currently number three on Indian music charts. Lee composed the song in just 30 minutes, while in India for the Champions Trophy matches recently.

“Other than cricket, music is my passion. When I was told I would be singing with a legend I was glad,” said Lee who has turned down multiple offers to be in Bollywood films.

The video for You’re the One for Me was filmed in under three hours:

“Crank Up the Handsome and Rip Off the Knob”

Stephen Colbert uses his internal “Bhangrometer” when deciding which side to take in this feud currently shaking up Bollywood.

Start watching at about 1:50 to see King Khan and Big B face off:

Thanks to Sepia Mutiny tipster brown_fob for the link.

(The Colbert Report)