Aashayein is yet another of those films where Abraham shines. Maybe it’s the role, which taps into his typically concealed anger but which we can all feel lies dangerously close - read: perfectly HOT! - to the surface for this man. Maybe it’s the supporting cast, which is made up of super-talents we’ve either grown up watching or will grow old watching in the future. Or maybe it’s because the film deals with a somber subject, in an authentic Indian cinematic style but with so much care and attention to details, that it manages to make the human stories come out, instead of some Bollywood mess. No heavy handed tragedies, no soppy love stories, no overdone sentimentality. Just human beings dealing with the anger and fear filling their very human hearts.

The story of Aashayein actually sounded simplistic to me when I read the synopsis: Rahul is a compulsive gambler who one day wins big. The first thing he does at the sight of Rupees 3 Crores is to propose to his girlfriend and immediately after, collapses to the floor. In the hospital, his doctor friend discovers that he has lung cancer - if you thought Abraham chain smoked in Anurag Kashyap’s No Smoking, that was nothing compared to the cigarettes he consumes in this film - and Rahul is told his death sentence… Only three more months to live. Instead of sticking around and dealing with the grief all around him, he escapes to an idillic clinic in Pondicherry and among the other patients there, who have also been told their life is about to end, Rahul finds his courage, his peace and his inner love.

The film’s opening sequence does for gambling dens what Zoya Akhtar’s Luck By Chance did for the inner workings of film studios. You’ll just have to watch it to know what I’m talking about. Rahul’s apartment, which he shares with fiance Nafiza (Sonal Sehgal) is finally a real depiction of what an urban apartment looks like in actual life, not some filmi version either super glitzy or squalid and dark. The clinic in Pondicherry is simple enough, clean enough and modest enough to be completely believable but also immediately convey the sense of peace Rahul feels there, despite his getting increasingly sicker by the day. And the fellow patients he comes in contact with while at the clinic provide some of the most heartfelt acting I’ve seen in a long time.

From the cameos by Aashayein’s writer and director Nagesh Kukunoor and Shreyas Talpade - who BTW also sings on the track he performs - to the supporting roles by the incredible Farida Jalal as the AIDS infected, ex-prostitute Madhu, filmmaker and actor Girish Karnad as the voice-less, but character filled Partha, Ashwin Chitale as the angelic boy with a love for mangoes Govinda and last - but definitely NOT least - the superbly talented Anaitha Nair as the strong willed, belligerent but romantic Padma, the film sports beautiful performance after beautiful performance and I’m baffled as to why Aashayein took three years to see the light of day in theaters. But whatever the reason, the timing seems perfect for this film, with the newly found success for the different and darker themes in Indian cinema lately.

Even the costumes, by Aparna Shah, are noticeable for their truth. Girls dress like girls, boys and men choose different styles and Shah has done wonders with kurta pajamas and track pants on Abraham. We really believe that all Rahul brought was one backpack - filled with money, his diary and an Indiana Jones poster - since his wardrobe stays constant, yet inspired, throughout. The D.P. on this film is Sudeep Chatterjee and if the name sounds familiar, well he’s also responsible for the inspired Chak De India - which coincidentally starred Nair in her first feature role - Kukunoor’s Dor and Shirish Kunder’s Jaan-e-Mann. The soundtrack, by Salim-Sulaiman, is haunting and the songs undoubtedly beautiful, though at times it tried to hand feed the audience its emotions, which I found a bit heavy handed and invasive.

That said, having recently seen the uninspired Eat Pray Love, I could not help but make the comparison between these films. In Aashayein, the true power of Karma is explored, without as much as mentioning an ashram or meditation. The essence of what constitutes great food is shown with a couple of beautifully orange, shiny Alphonso mangoes. And finding love seems more of an inner quest into where our sometimes fickle affections lie, not how many partners the film’s lead can score. I enjoyed watching Abraham’s transformation, from the understandably selfish ways of a person who has a terminal disease to his inner child with a dream, as well as his emaciated post-intermission face and body.

Aashayein may not be a film for everyone. To thoroughly enjoy it, you must possess that boundless imagination which lets you skim over the parts that may seem unreal and a bit kitschy but also have a bit of that hopeless romantic gene which allows you to buy a love story, no matter who, where or when, wholeheartedly. Simply because it is a love story. And even if it is an unconventional one. If you are ready to take that leap, Aashayein opens on Friday, August 27th, in cinemas worldwide.

It is exactly because of the transnational power of fashion that Engendered has decided to pair fabulous South Asian cinema with some of the most outstanding fashion icons from the region for I-View Film 2010. It is a combination that will prove absolutely once and for all why the world must look to the East for all its inspiration.

These fashion events will include two spectacular fashion shows, both held at Asia Society in NYC and bookending the Opening Night and Closing Night films. Designers will include Nomi Ansari from Pakistan, Bina and Malini Ramani, Manish Malhotra, Rohit Bal and Tarun Tahiliani from India.

On Opening Day, Nomi Ansari will present his collection for “Superdevis, Virgins & Vamps - Toasting the Women of Bollywood and Lollywood” at 10 p.m., following the North American Premiere of Onir’s highly anticipated film I AM. Closing Night will see mother and daughter team Bina and Malini Ramani present their collections along with Manish Malhotra, Rohit Bal and Tarun Tahiliani as part of “Desiring Bodies - Celebrate Expression of Choice & Sexuality in South Asia”. The fashion show will be at 8 p.m. following the World Premiere screening of Mirch, a film by Vinay Shukla and starring Konkona Sen, Raima Sen and Shreyas Talpade.

Both nights will find a bevy of celebrities involved in the films participating at I-View also walking the ramp, along with supermodels and glamour-divas, for fashion and fun. Always with its finger right on the pulse, Engendered promises two nights never to be forgotten, as well as the chance to see first hand what true style is. Oh, and lets all not forget to dress the part, of course! Now, a bit more about the participating designers…

In Pakistan Nomi Ansari needs no introduction. A graduate of Pakistan School of Fashion Design (affiliated with La Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, France) Nomi Ansari debuted with his label the same year he graduated - 2001 – and since then there has been no looking back for the Nomi Ansari Design Studio. In Nomi Ansari’s own words, his design philosophy is actually accepting and understanding the fact that there can be no uniform, standard design philosophy: “I just have to ensure that my client looks beautiful and super-glam at the end of the day, come what may and defying all odds.”

Bina Ramani has been fondly called “The Hostess with the Mostest” and it’s been said about her “Before Bina, there was no figure in Indian society circles, with perhaps the exception of Maharani Gayatri Devi, who was even known internationally.” She is also credited with discovering and setting up the Hauz Khas village, which is now one of Delhi’s fashion hotspots, housing scores of designers and popular eateries. Her daughter, designer Malini Ramani will be this Fall’s Lakmé Fashion Week Finale show, with a fantastic tribute to the Gypsy in all of us. She’ll be presenting some of the pieces from this exclusive collection at the closing night I-View Film’s Fashion event!

Manish Malhotra, for Indian cinema fans, needs no introduction. Who can forget the ensembles he has designed for leading Bollywood actresses including Sushmita Sen, Preity Zinta, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee and Kajol?! Manish has won the Filmfare Best Costume Award for the film Rangeela and has hosted his own successful TV talk show titled, what else, “The Manish Malhotra Show.” Ever reinventing himself, Malhotra is now heading towards filmmaking and will be starting a new career as a movie director with Dharma Productions.

Rohit Bal’s designs have been worn by celebrities such as Uma Thurman, Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell. Bal’s genius lies in the elegance of his garment, while never straying too far from his Kashmiri roots in his use of embroidery and stitching. He’s been called the “Bad Boy” of the Indian Fashion Industry but if that’s what being bad means, who would want to be good!

Finally, if Rohit Bal is the Bad Boy of Indian Fashion, then Tarun Tahiliani is the Traditionalist. His clothing never strays too far from the classic lines and rich colors of what we think when we imagine Indian design. Recently showcased at Milan Fashion Week, his creations are equally at home in Bloomingdales and Harvey Nichols as they are on the pages of Filmfare and Verve.

In the words of Engendered’s Executive Director Myna Mukherjee “Cinema in South-Asia is inextricably linked with the fashion industry. Historically women’s bodies and desires have always been policed in South-Asia and our intention is to counter such intense interrogations of desire, expressions of choice and agency by using Fashion as a tool for cultural intervention.”

So show off your great joie-de-vivre by joining all the AVS fun this year at I-View! Purchase your tickets by visiting the I-View official website and don’t forget to don your “Lal Dupatta” and your churiya for these fantastic events. Remember, life is NOT a dress rehearsal, live it to the fullest!

Eighteen top spellers from the 9 regional centers gathered at North Brunswick High School Auditorium to battle it out for the title of champion and a $10,000 prize. It took a total of 17 grueling rounds of spelling words like gebrauchsmusik, hygrodeik and sdrucciola for the winner to emerge.

The event was organized by leading South Asian advertising firm, Touchdown Media Inc. and sponsored by MetLife, insurance, employee benefits and financial services. This year the Bee also welcomed Yatra.com, a leading travel company from India, as the Associate Sponsor for the event. Sony Entertainment Television is the exclusive rights holder and will be broadcasting the event across the globe in over 150 countries.

“We are very pleased with the event this year and congratulate Anvita Mishra for becoming the best South Asian speller across the country. I am excited to see a girl bagging the title this year and congratulate all the finalists on an amazing job” says Rahul Walia, CEO, Touchdown Media Inc. and founder of the South Asian Spelling Bee.

He also adds “This is a great platform that helps children showcase their talent, hone their skill and inculcate a sense of discipline and discipline that will help in their overall development. I urge parents to take advantage of this unique contest next year.”

The Finals were co-hosted by 2009 champ, Akshat Shekhar and special guest Annamika Veeramani, Scripps 2010 Champion, who provided commentary throughout the contest.

The champion received a $10,000 grand prize from MetLife along with the South Asian Spelling Bee trophy.

“We congratulate all of the families who participated in the 2010 South Asian Spelling Bee,” says Laurel Daring, assistant vice president of Marketing at MetLife. “As the title sponsor for the second consecutive year, we were excited to see hundreds of families come together once again for this fun, educational event, and to learn how to start planning for the rising costs of education.”

The event was open to children up to 14 years of age and was held in 9 regional centers
across the United States. These areas included, New Jersey, DC Metro area, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, New York, Boston, Los Angeles and the Bay Area. The contest was conducted in written and oral format at the regional levels which served as the elimination as well as selection process for the finalists.

Jaideep Janakiram, Head – North America, SET Asia commented, “Over the past three years, the South Asian Spelling Bee has been making an impact amongst the youth across the US. Sony Entertainment Television Asia is pleased to have been a part of it from the beginning and to be able to broadcast this event to audiences around the globe.”

After registering their child online at www.southasianspellingbee.com, parents brought them to the designated center and a 25 word written test was administered. Children had to spell 15 or more words correctly to qualify for the afternoon oral round and from there the top three were awarded prize money and the top two qualified for the Finals.

From each of these centers, the finalists along with a parent were invited on an all expenses paid trip to the finals in NJ. Overall about 500 children registered to spell amongst all the centers.

The contest will be conducted annually in the June and July months and the 2011 schedule will be announced in October this year. For more information and to keep abreast with the upcoming events, log onto www.southasianspellingbee.com.

In my own culture, seeing a psychiatrist, or even a therapist to talk out some issues, is seen as a sign of weakness and the first stop on the road to being confined for life in a Sanatorium. Anti-depressants carry their own dishonor and the Italians would rather grin and bear a belligerent relative, whose behavior is most often a cry for help, than resort to any of the medical solutions available. From having viewed Hiding Divya - not once, but twice - I can safely say that once again Indians and Italians are closer than we can ever imagine, this time in cultural taboos and familiar restrictions.

The film begins right after the death of “Uncle John”, Divya’s longtime companion, and caretaker during her “hiding” times - as he affectionately called her most catatonic moments. Divya’s daughter Palini - Linny for short - comes home to NJ from NYC, after hearing of John’s death from childhood friend Ravi Das, now an Emergency Room doctor in the City. Accompanying Linny is her sixteen-year-old daughter Jia, the result of Linny’s teenage pregnancy, who immediately bonds with her grandmother.  It is almost at once in the story that we realize how much more of a connection there is between the elder and youngest generation than between mother and daughter, be it Divya and Linny, or Linny and Jia. Charged with constant misunderstandings and sustained incomprehension, the dynamics of this dysfunctional family are quickly made clear.

With the stress of her daughter’s return adding to the pain of losing a loved one, Divya’s condition gradually deteriorates and under the threat of her illness and manic behavior, the family nucleus seems to deteriorate even further. The end result will astound you and though the subject matter is anything but light, there is redemption in its delicate treatment and understanding of what it truly means to be Bipolar (and have a Bipolar relative) in a small Desi community and what weight dysfunction carries in a culture that puts family values above all else.

The performances in Hiding Divya are understatedly sublime, starting with Divya herself, played by the Grand Dame of Indian cinema Madhur Jaffrey. Ever gracious, ever elegant and divinely talented, Jaffrey brings nuances to her character that at times blurred for me the lines between the film and reality. Pooja Kumar as Linny is also outstandingly credible, though having personally spoken to the radiant Kumar on more than one occasion, I can guarantee she is as opposite as can be to her role, in both character and life-experience. Jia is played to hostile teenage perfection by Madelaine Massey, even as she slowly discloses her secret to the audience with the expertise of a seasoned actress, way beyond her teen years and tackling her first feature role. Deep Katdare is also great in a highly likable role, part romantic hero, part comic relief in those moments when the respite of being able to laugh at someone’s charmingly human imperfections lightened the mood of the story.

Where I think the film’s bit of weakness lies is in the depth of it all. The story only goes so deep, deals with this much and not more… But even while writing this sentence I realize that within this “lightness” of storytelling by Mirza lies the genius of her talent. Had she been more heavy-handed, or dealt with each character too deeply, then the film would risk not enjoying the warm reception it experienced at its NYC premiere at Big Cinemas, on Tuesday evening. Never preachy or judgmental, each viewer is free to walk away from Hiding Divya with as much - or as little - insight as they can take. And the story is based on the real-life experience of a dear friend of Mirza’s and her sister. Truth is always subtle, never filmi dramatic after all…

The soundtrack - by Samrat Chakrabarti - is a wonderful accompaniment to the moods and themes of the story, never too obvious but totally on the mark. As Chakrabarti pointed out on the Red Carpet, he aimed for the music to be an “organic” part of the film and succeeded wholeheartedly. Meetu Chilana sings the haunting Lost track and also doubles as an Associate Producer, as well as appearing in a cameo, while Bhangra royalty DJ Rekha lends an original song to the soundtrack and appears in the Bhangra club scene, as - of course! - herself. The film is produced by Rohi Mirza Pandya, with Gitesh Pandya as Executive Producer, along with Katdare and Vijay Vaidyanathan.

If I can leave you with one last thought it’s that Hiding Divya is a must-see film. It won’t be song-and-dance entertainment, it is not a rom-com by average standards, and it as far from an action film as you can get in this day and age. But it is a film with a strong message and a powerful educational tool, which will allow you at the very least to walk away wiser and more enlightened about a disease that could affect someone in your family or close circle of friends, at some point in their lives. Or it could help you to become more accepting of what the world likes to define as “abnormal” which in reality is anything that does not fit into the normalcy box of convention.

Hiding Divya opens at Big Cinemas in NYC, Edison and North Bergen, NJ and Fremont, California on August 20th, then Novi, Michigan and Peachtree, Georgia on August 27th. Some of the screenings on opening weekend will feature a Q & A with the filmmaker and/or cast, check out the film’s website for more info.

Top image by Shehab Hossain, Red Carpet images by Christine Jean Chambers

Rakhtcharitra is a story inspired from the life of Paritala Ravi, who was inarguably the most feared individual ever in the history of the blood-ridden faction politics of South India, who got assassinated in January 2005. He was a prime accused in innumerable murder cases and also survived numerous assassination attempts. Ravi’s name sent shivers up the spines of not only his rivals but even the law enforcement agencies. He was a rebel, a feudal lord, a robin hood, alleged killer of hundreds and saviour of thousands till the day he was gunned down by a death squad allegedly put together by his arch rival Suri who wanted to avenge his father’s and brother’s deaths, in a bizarre déjà vu.

This is the story of a man’s phenomenal rise to power and a story of the most intense blood curdling conflict ever heard of between two individuals (Paritala Ravi & Suri) and it is also the ultimate statement on the oft heard disastrous consequences of a fatal mixture of caste, crime, family feuds and politics.

Rakhtcharitra is the first of its kind to have been simultaneously shot in three languages Hindi, Tamil & Telegu. Each language will be released in two parts. Rakhtcharitra brings Vivek and RGV together after eight years and also marks the debut of Tamil superstar Suriya into Bollywood.

Speaking on the film Director, Ram Gopal Varma added, “I decided to film this story at one stretch and release it in two parts about 4-5 weeks from each other, a first of its kind ever attempted in the history of Indian cinema. I want to call the films Rakta Charitra-I and Rakta Charitra-II. Why I want to make it in two parts is because, the sheer drama and content the story possesses is so incredibly rich and of such high magnitude that it is not possible to do justice to do it in a film which is lesser than 4 to 5 hours. Also Ravi’s life can be broadly divided into two parts from the time how circumstances created his rise to how he created circumstances that felled him.”

Rakhtcharitra is set to release in Oct’10 and part II to follow 4-6 weeks later. It will be distributed worldwide by Cinergy Independent.

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Produced by Aditya Chopra, the still untitled film will star Imran Khan and Katrina Kaif as the lead pair.

This romantic comedy goes on floor mid-September and is scheduled for release in 2011.

Ali has been with the Yash Raj Banner for many years and has assisted on films such as Badmaash Company, New York, Tashan and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.

He further added, “Deepika has brought an energy and feistiness to the character of Kalpana Datta which is very endearing. I am enamoured by her performance”.

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey is director Ashutosh Gowariker’s first epic period thriller and is based on the book Do And Die by Manini Chatterjee which centres on the Chittagong Uprising of the 1930s. The film has been shot mostly in Goa along with portions in Mumbai.

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey is presented by AGPPL and PVR Pictures and is jointly produced by Ajay Bijli, Sanjeev Bijli and Sunita A. Gowariker. Other credits include lyrics Javed Akhtar, music Sohail Sen, costume designer Neeta Lulla, art director Nitin Desai and director of photography Kiiran Deohans.