Summer is here, which means a whole lot of new films are coming your way. And if you live in the San Francisco Bay area you are in for a treat with a clutch of film festivals ranging from San Francisco Green Film Festival (May 28-June 3, 2015), SF DocFest/SF IndieFest Festival (June 4-18, 2015) to the… Continue Reading
There is a fascinating exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Art that features 9 artists of Indian origin called “Postdate: Photography and Inherited Art in India,” This is the first time such an exhibit has been put together that looks at how modern Indian artists look back and interpret their inherited history in India.… Continue Reading
Indian actor Dhanush’s Tanglish song “Why This Kolaveri Di,” went viral in November 2011. It has over 90 million views on YouTube. This Tanglish (Tamil and English) song became quite the rage and spawned all sorts of remixed and new versions right from an R&B number to an Arabic version of the “Shorba Song.” There… Continue Reading
B.B. King, “The King of Blues,” passed away tonight in Las Vegas. He was 89 years old. He had been unwell for sometime and on May 1, 2015 King shared this on his Facebook page: “I am in home hospice care at my residence in Las Vegas. Thanks to all for your well wishes and… Continue Reading
Director Shira Piven’s new film “Welcome To Me,” made me laugh and also made me a bit sad. We caught up with her at the San Francisco International Film Festival, where her film was shown. In this interview we spoke to Piven about how she came to direct this film, Kristen Wiig and the… Continue Reading
I had no idea what “Piku” was about. All I knew is the film starred Deepika Paduknone, Amitabh Bachchan and Irrfan Khan. The film is directed by Shoojit Sircar, whose previous film “Vicky Donor,” I enjoyed watching. The other bit of information I knew was that Juhu Chaturvedi wrote the story of “Piku” and “Vicky… Continue Reading
Over the years I have seen pictures of Iris Apfel in various magazines. How could you not notice her? She jumps out of the page with her eclectic, colorful, stylish and layered ensemble paired with those over- sized jewelry and glasses? And then there that energetic aura about her. Most often, you will find her smiling… Continue Reading
This is our final episode with Dr. Salman Akhtar about the history of Bollywood or Hindi cinema. We talk to him about the label “Bollywood,” used to describe the Hindi film industry based in Mumbai. There are those who don’t like the term, while others see nothing wrong in using the term. What does Dr. Akhtar… Continue Reading
What is it about mountains that strikes that primordial chord of awe, wonder, respect and admiration? These were the questions running through my mind as I sat in my comfortable seat and watched “Meru,” a mesmerizing and award-winning Sundance film. Meet Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk, three well-known and experienced climbers, who decide to climb one of… Continue Reading
There are some books that are easy to read, and then there are some books that are dense and at times confusing to understand. One such book for me was Thomas Hardy’s “Far From The Madding Crowd.” Hardy’s book was our assigned reading for our literature class in high school and I can still vividly… Continue Reading
With one more week to go, here are my 3 picks from this year’s San Francisco International Film Festival (April 23-May 7, 2015). These are films that I have seen. There are lot of films I have not seen, and would like to see them. These include “The Diplomat,” “The Deep Web” “Tangerine” and “The… Continue Reading
We continue with our history of Hindi cinema or Bollywood with Dr. Salman Akhtar. We pick up the threads of our conversation and look at how Bollywood films underwent a change during the 1980s. The films made in 1970s belonged to the angry young man genre and were marked with narcisstic rage. Concerns about the market… Continue Reading
The 58th San Francisco Internatonal Film Festival is underway, and this year they have a really terrific lineup.The opening night film was Alex Gibney’s much talked about documentary “Steve Jobs: The Man In The Machine.” The film explores our collective fascination with Jobs, and delves into what values shaped this iconic Silicon Valley entrepreneur.
Today is Ella Fitzgerald birthday, one of the greatest jazz singers in the world. She was born on April 25, 1917 in Virginia Beach. She was 21 years old when she recorded “A-Tisket, A-Tasket,” which sold over a million copies. For the next 50 years she performed and sang in various venues around the world. She recorded… Continue Reading
Today is the opening night of the longest running film festival in the Americas – San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF). The festival runs from today through May 7, 2015 and is studded with a wonderful array of films, guests and talks. We sat down to speak with Noah Cowan of San Francisco Film Society… Continue Reading
Film lovers are in for a wonderful treat at this year’s 58th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 23 -May 7, 2014). With so many terrific films it is always a challenge to find out which ones to watch. Here are five films from different genres and parts of the world that I enjoyed watching and… Continue Reading
Dr. Salman Akhtar talks about Bollywood or Hindi cinema’s 100 year old history in this multi-part interview. In Part-3 of our conversation he talks about female sexuality and the angry young phase of Hindi cinema during the 1970s. “I will tell you a very interesting story about female sexuality in Hindi film,” he says. And he shares the… Continue Reading
San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) is gearing up to host the 58th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 23 – May 7, 2015). This is the longest running film festival in the Americas points out Noah Cowan, Executive Director of SFFS. What is different about this year’s festival I asked Cowan. The actual festival itself won’t… Continue Reading
Take a look at the new trailer of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” directed JJ Abrams. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and JJ Abrams. The film stars Harrison Ford, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega Lupita Nyong’o and others. This much anticipated film releases on December 18, 2015. Earlier this year, I got a chance to interview Kasdan… Continue Reading
Meet Mikey McCleary, musician, composer and music producer.He has been kept busy creating music for Bollywood films and Indian advertisements, and lately he has branched out to score music for Indian-American filmmaker Shonali Bose’s “Margarita With A Straw” If his name is unfamiliar, his music must certainly be familiar to most of us. You might… Continue Reading
Dr. Salman Akhtar talks about the 100 year old history of Bollywood or Hindi cinema in this multi-part interview. Dr. Akhtar comes from a family of poets and writers in India. His father Jan Nisar Akhtar worked in Hindi film industry as a lyricist and poet. His mother Safia Akhtar was a talented writer & poet. His brother Javed Akhtar is a well-known writer… Continue Reading
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (1922 -2009), the legendary sarode maestro was born on April 22, 1922. He would have been 93 years old today. He spent his formative years in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. His father Ustad Allauddin Khan was a court musician and is the founder of the Maihar Gharana of Hindustani classical music. Khan sahib as… Continue Reading
Chaitanya Tamhane’s debut feature film “Court” pulls you right in. That is all I am going to say about this powerful film with its slow, meditative and unhurried pace with excellent acting by Vira Sathidar, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Vivek Gombar and others. “Court” takes you to places that you tend to ignore or overlook in India. The… Continue Reading
“Kinky and cofounding,” is how this film is described. “It is obscene” says Isabella Rossellini in the the video clip embedded at the end of this post. It is a “fun romp,” says Noah Cowan, Executive Director of San Francisco Film Society. Now, don’t jump to conclusions. This “kinky and confounding” and “fun romp” is a… Continue Reading
Meet Kosha Patel, Los Angeles-based actor and writer. Did I mention funny? Perhaps, you have seen her in “Shit White Girls Say…To Brown Girls.” She has acted in “Grey’s Anatomy,” “House of Lies,” and “The Newroom” We caught up with Patel at this year’s Cinequest Film Festival in Silicon Valley during the world premiere of “Miss… Continue Reading
Dr. Salman Akhtar talks about the 100 year old history of Bollywood or Hindi cinema in this multi-part interview. What is different about Dr. Akhtar’s approach is he brings his trained psychiatrist eyes to the subject and helps us understand what socio-economics factors permeated and colored the narrative and story lines of filmmakers. And how films in turn… Continue Reading
Billie Holiday turns 100 today. The talented jazz and blues singer was born on April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia. “Lady Day” as she was popularly known was 44 years old when she passed away. But, what a life Holiday led filled with joy, happiness, pain, drugs, prison and music. And what a voice Holiday possessed. It was a… Continue Reading
Noah Cowan is Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) that hosts the annual San Francisco International Film Festival. Cowan joined SFFS last year, and prior to that he spent a lot of his time at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). His last post was as artistic director of the Bell Lightbox… Continue Reading
Art and films – that is what we are talking about with our guests in our upcoming interviews. Sherill Ingalls of San Jose Museum of Art talks about their current exhibit “Postdate: Photography and Inherited History in India” that features 9 contemporary artists from India. Actors Tiya Sircar and Kosha Patel talk about their new… Continue Reading
Meet Lawrence Kasdan – writer, director and producer. He co-wrote the screenplay for George Lucas’s “Star Wars” trilogy, He worked with JJ Abrams on the latest Star Wars film “The Force Awakens,” that releases in December 2015. Kasdan was honored with a Maverick Spirit Award at the recent Cinequest Film Festival, which is where… Continue Reading
The Kamla Show 