May 2013 marks the 100th year of Indian cinema. Raja Harishchandra was India’s first feature film that released on  May 3, 1913.  Made by Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, this silent film consisted of 4 reels and was not a big hit with the audience in the first few days. But, with some creative marketing Phalke managed to get people to come [...]

Shamshad Begum the legendary singer from Hindi films passed away yesterday in Mumbai.  She was 94 years old. She made her debut as a singer in 1947 and by 1949 her songs in Hindi cinema had become big hits, especially the song Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon. She continued to sing till the 1950s, and appears to have [...]

Mindy Kaling, Jonathan Ive, Aamir Khan and Elon Musk in the same sentence? Is this a case of entertainment meets Silicon Valley?  What do these folks have in common you may ask in case you missed seeing the list? What list is that? Why, the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the [...]

San Francisco is getting ready for its 10th year celebration of South Asian films. 3rd I Film Festival featuring South Asian films opens today in San Francisco and runs through the 23rd of September 2012.  And  for the first time they will show films in San Jose on September 30th. Here is the link to [...]

  Murphy radio and Radio Ceylon mentioned in Ala Barfi song  from the upcoming Bollywood film Barfi  have probably opened the  floodgates of happy radio memories for millions of people that grew up in India.  Swanand Kirkire  brilliantly captures a slice of Indian life that is probably disappearing. There was a time when  Murphy radio and [...]

Tape delay – that’s the reason behind the delay in this  Cocktail film note. Cocktail. That trailer on YouTube looked interesting. I noticed the director’s name – Homi Adajania. Now, here was a director whose debut film Being Cyrus made for an interesting and absorbing watch. So, I figured If Adjania is the director of Cocktail, [...]

Oscar-winning music composer AR Rahman has created a Punjabi track called “Nimma Nimma” for London Olympic’s opening ceremony according to The Wall Street Journal. Guess this should not come as a surprise considering that Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle is directing the opening ceremony for the London Olympics. AR Rahman and Boyle have worked together in [...]

[View the story "Remembering Rajesh Khanna, Hindi Cinema's First Superstar" on Storify]

  Ashton Kutcher’s “brownface” advertisment for Popchips has roiled the calm waters of the desi community in the US and other parts of the world. Did Popchips forgot to factor in how tightly networked the desi community is in the online world?  So, the question is did Popchips and Kutcher push the envelope on this [...]

Ravi. Many of us knew him just by his first name. I will hazard a guess that if you watch Hindi films or listen to Hindi songs then you must have heard his music at some point in your life.  Ravi, (86), passed away on March 7, 2012 in Mumbai. He leaves behind a rich [...]