It was a little intimidating to find myself in a land where desi's want a mother like Jaya Bachhan, they adore a father like Amitabh, wives expect a doting Sharukh or Abhishek and Husband's crave for gorgeous Aishwarya's , Rani's and Kajol's.....More than surprised, I was taken aback by the way the NRI junta identifies itself with the silver screen entities. For them, these screen characters are real people.These Desi's plan to visit them during their next trip to India. I sometimes wonder that which part of India would they find Suraj Barjatiya's portrayal of a close knit family or Yash Chopra's elegant houses and exotic locales..
People squander $s to buy Indian DVDs or catch the first show of a newly released movie. Visiting lonely parents in the neighborhood takes a back seat when it comes to catching up the first day first show of a newly released movie in a theater which might require a 2 hour drive. On my recent trip to King of Prussia, I accompanied my cousins to watch the newly released movie - Om Shanti Om. I was bored to death ! Sharukh's charm could not cast any spell and as per my ratings it was a super duper flop !! But again, it was not a movie of my taste anyways, so opinions might differ. My cousin and his wife were in the awe of the so-called-spectacular movie.They were so excited and thrilled that after seeing a horrifying 3 hour drama, they had nothing but to rave about it for 2 hours on the journey back home. Within minutes the whole network of their Indian friends was informed about how amazing the movie was and why they should watch it asap. I had nothing to say but was passively watching the second drama which was going on in front of me...
We happened to meet their acquaintance at the same theater. Now these folks had been (un)fortunate enough to have seen another big release of the month - Sanwariya , just a day before. Instead of exchanging pleasantries at a public place like cinema hall they were busy flaunting about their experience with Sanwariya. This show off was enough to upset my cousin's wife who could not watch yet another dumb sob story before her acquaintances did.
I am slightly flabbergasted to see people competing against each other to watch Indian Flicks before anyone else can ! This competition gives them something to talk about within their social circle of friends and relatives. Failure to do be a part of this rat race is taken as a sabotage to their normal life. I felt that people here are so disconnected with each other that they need external crutches like hindi movies to converse with each other. The dire urge to remain connected to their Indian roots is the biggest conundrum of the Indian Diaspora.
People squander $s to buy Indian DVDs or catch the first show of a newly released movie. Visiting lonely parents in the neighborhood takes a back seat when it comes to catching up the first day first show of a newly released movie in a theater which might require a 2 hour drive. On my recent trip to King of Prussia, I accompanied my cousins to watch the newly released movie - Om Shanti Om. I was bored to death ! Sharukh's charm could not cast any spell and as per my ratings it was a super duper flop !! But again, it was not a movie of my taste anyways, so opinions might differ. My cousin and his wife were in the awe of the so-called-spectacular movie.They were so excited and thrilled that after seeing a horrifying 3 hour drama, they had nothing but to rave about it for 2 hours on the journey back home. Within minutes the whole network of their Indian friends was informed about how amazing the movie was and why they should watch it asap. I had nothing to say but was passively watching the second drama which was going on in front of me...
We happened to meet their acquaintance at the same theater. Now these folks had been (un)fortunate enough to have seen another big release of the month - Sanwariya , just a day before. Instead of exchanging pleasantries at a public place like cinema hall they were busy flaunting about their experience with Sanwariya. This show off was enough to upset my cousin's wife who could not watch yet another dumb sob story before her acquaintances did.
I am slightly flabbergasted to see people competing against each other to watch Indian Flicks before anyone else can ! This competition gives them something to talk about within their social circle of friends and relatives. Failure to do be a part of this rat race is taken as a sabotage to their normal life. I felt that people here are so disconnected with each other that they need external crutches like hindi movies to converse with each other. The dire urge to remain connected to their Indian roots is the biggest conundrum of the Indian Diaspora.
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