It is no secret that in this age of uncertainty and financial gloom we all could use our own personal Genie. We have been pushed to our mental and physical limits and the idea of rubbing a magic lamp and getting three of our wishes come true seems like the perfect solution to our problems. Or is it? In the tale of ‘Aladin’ — I’m guessing the alternative spelling ensured that Eros Entertainment would not encounter copyright issues with Disney — the charmingly good-hearted hero of the story gets the surprise of his life, when he discovers just how powerful a wish can be. I mean, have you ever wondered while uttering a personal mantra, or saying a prayer to the gods if your wording would perhaps make the plea less effective? Well, this film gives an insight — albeit one cute, funny and magical — into that cunondrum. 

The film stars beloved megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who wears some amazingly flamboyant outfits — Narendra Kumar designer the ‘Aladin’ looks — and a salt & pepper intricate hairdo as the Genie, hunky Riteish Deshmukh, who is always used for somewhat nerdy parts but yet still shines through with a whole lot of leading man sex appeal and elegance as the Bengali Aladin, and newcomer Jacqueline Fernandez, who is absolutely stunning on the big screen and will be conquering loads of boys’ hearts along with Aladin’s. Sanjay Dutt plays the Joker-like anti-hero in the film. He is seen sporting souped up cowboy boots, a newly trim and taut line and super short hair as the evil Ringmaster, while Ratna Pathak Shah brings her charisma to a cameo as Aladin’s mother-figure, though not his actual birth mom. The sets of the film — which takes place in the imaginary city of Khwaish, a mixture of Jaisalmer, 1940s Kashmir, Imperial Lucknow and a village in the hills near Rome — are alone worth the price of admission…

The red carpet at the Paris Theater sparkled on Wednesday night with celebrities, filmmakers and producers responsible for some of today’s most beloved films and music, all participating in the South Asian International Film Festival. From the CEO of Eros Entertainment Ken Naz, to actor Maulik Pancholy — one of the stars of NBC’s Emmy Award winning series ‘30 Rock’ — to Broadway producer and ‘The Fifth Beatle’ writer/director Vivek Tiwary, to producer and advocate ground-breaker Amelia Hanibelsz — who looked divine in an orange tie-dyed Sri Lankan sari. The evening belonged to those who are bringing the beauty and culture of the South Asian experience to the world. And all got interviewed by AVS’s own fabulous TV correspondent Jitin Hingorani. So tune in to see it up close and personal on the next show!

I caught up with a few of the judges for the films in competition at this edition of SAIFF to ask two very specific questions, which peaked my curiosity. First up Anadil Hossain, who is the original, inimitable Bollywood/Hollywood producing connection and a wonderful spokesperson for the promotion of South Asian cinema in the US, and international cinema throughout the world. When I asked her what she would be looking for in the Short Films category, she said “I am really excited to see this first animation short, as there isn’t a lot of animation generally in the festival and to see the quality of animation in South Asia, what’s coming out is really exciting for me to see. I’ve produced a lot of short films, even in the last year, and editing is the most difficult part of a short film. A lot of young filmmakers who make shorts are too attached to the content and don’t understand that actually less is more. The concept of a short, of being pithy and yet powerful, is why I have so much affection for the format.” The striking Hossain is currently working on several projects, both for her own production company Dillywood Inc. and as ‘producers-for-hire’ as she calls herself and her talented team. 

For a complete change of pace, I also asked Hossain what she would ask her own Genie, as those infamous three wishes. She confessed ”I want a Bollywood crossover film. Not a white man Indian crossover, but true Bollywood. So that’s one, then I wish for a Bollywood star to make it huge around the world. It’s been tried but never successfully and some of the best possibilities — like Abhishek Bachchan with his great sense of humor and Farhan Akhtar — are so Bollywood at heart that they don’t seem to even want it. And number three is for a Bollywood film to be a true musical, like a Busby Berkeley musical or ‘Grease’, where the song and dance are part of the narrative structure.”

Following Hossain on the red carpet was the dashing Samrat Chakrabarti who shined in a beautiful white blazer with embroidery and dark trousers. On the jury for Narrative Features, he’ll have the difficult task of finding the winner among some amazing films. He said honestly “It is quite exciting to be judging the Features, every film is a winner!” and continued in sharing his three wishes for the Genie “One is to be a well-respected, successful actor, both here and in India, two is to continue to be interviewed by beautiful women such as yourself and three…” OK, so I personally lost my train of thought on that one. Can you blame me? I can’t remember number three and my recording device mysteriously stopped working for the evening. Must have fallen into the same joyful trance that overcame me after that kind of answer!

Next, I talked to the lovely modern film composer Simon Taufique. Lovely because his manner is ever-gentle and so beautifully refined, and lovely because he took the time to answer a few questions in the midst of being tugged and pulled in all different directions. He is the Jury Chair for the festival this year and confessed that he will be looking “For films which manage to tell a whole, heartfelt and touching story through content, visual and narrative”. And last, but definitely not least, I asked Festival Founder and Director Shilen Amin what his three wishes for the Genie would be and he candidly confessed  ”For great films to be made, for the economic crisis to come to an end” and added “And I guess I should have one for the world… World peace would be amazing!” I second all three of those wishes. Although I would add “For SAIFF to continue its mission in bringing great South Asian films to us each and every Fall”!

‘Aladin’ opens in theaters worldwide on Friday, October 30th and SAIFF continues through Tuesday, November 3rd with amazing films and star-studded premieres.