Hindu Singles Meet at Event by Hindu Vivah
By Jawahar Malhotra HOUSTON: After a gap of 5 years, the Dallas-based non-profit Hindu Vivah once again held an event to bring together Hindu singles for a speed-dating type of event held at the main auditorium of the Radha Krishna Temple on Beechnut near Kirkwood in Alief. But unlike the event of 5 years ago […]
Indian Film Festival of Houston Celebrates Its 15th Anniversary
HOUSTON: The Annual Indian Film Festival of Houston (IFFH), begun by its Founder and Executive Director Sutapa Ghosh in 2009, keeps getting better and better. This quality event screens features, shorts, and documentary film with Q & A sessions with filmmakers. There are bonuses as well. No wonder IFFH was voted as the “Best Film […]
‘Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh’: Naive, Insidious
By Shubhra Gupta Looking back at historical figures with the benefit of hindsight can be an interesting exercise. Rajkumar Santoshi posits a question in his ‘Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh’: what if Godse’s lethal attack on the Mahatma had failed? What if the two were given untrammeled time to converse with each other? Would there have […]
‘Pathaan’: Shah Rukh Khan is Back with Patriotic Spy Thriller
By Shubhra Gupta Hindi movies have been constructing the ‘desi’ equivalents of the Bond-Bourne franchise for a while now. Tiger has been ‘zinda’ in a pacy double-bill, Agent Vinod has done his bit, BellBottom has flexed and flared, but it is ‘Pathaan’ which has got the spy movie-laced-with-heavy-doses-of-patriotism bouncing off the screen, with Shah Rukh […]
‘Kuttey;: Lacks Both Bark and Bite; Watch for Tabu’s Performance
By Shubhra Gupta In 2009 came ‘Kaminey’, in which Vishal Bhardwaj offered us a compendium of crooks in a plot so entertaining that it practically begged an encore. Sadly, 2023’s Bollywood feature in theatres, appropriately called ‘Kuttey’, and directed by Vishal’s son, Aasmaan, is not that film. By all rights, it should have been. By […]
Malabar Gold & Diamonds Launches 300th Global Showroom in Dallas
This is the 3rd showroom of Malabar Gold & Diamonds in the USA Luxurious shopping area spread across 5,000 sq. ft Extensive jewellery collection with over 30,000 designs from 20 countries DALLAS: Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the 6th largest jewellery retailer globally, with a strong retail network across 10 countries, is all geared up to […]
Vadh: Pulp Fiction Story of a Noble Murder
By Shubhra Gupta There’s something noble about the word ‘vadh’, as opposed to, merely, murder. The latter can be tawdry, ordinary: the former is used as moral justification to end a life. But is a murder, even if it is of a monster, ever justified? Schoolmaster Manjunath (Sanjay Mishra) and wife Manju (Neena Gupta) are middle-aged, […]
JLF Houston 2022 Achieves Perfect Blend of Physical and Virtual
HOUSTON: After a hiatus of 2.5 years, JLF returned with its fifth edition to the city of Houston in a perfect blend of the physical and the virtual in September 2022. A festival of literature from all over the world, JLF Houston was an event unlike any other. The literary extravaganza invited people from Houston, […]
‘Naam Tha Kanhaiyalal: Documentary about a True Artiste
By Pradeep Anand This morning I saw one of the most moving documentaries in my life. It was about Kanhaiyalal, an actor who was type-cast into playing harsh roles of a munshi or a clerk, a bearer of bad news or deliverer of monetary harassment to the heroic main characters of Hindi movies. Before there […]
‘An Action Hero’: A Mostly Fun Caper
By Shubhra Gupta An Action Hero is pretty much what its title says it is: it is about an action hero, and his unexpected adventures, during which he learns the difference between reel life and real life. The film is stuffed with meta jokes, in-house gags, and a running jibe against the shouty TV shows […]
11th International Maheshwari Rajasthani Convention (IMRC) in Houston
By Trusha Chandak HOUSTON: The Maheshwari community of Rajasthan came together this Thanksgiving weekend to relive their culture and connect with each other at the 11th International Maheshwari and Rajasthani Convention (IMRC). The well attended event was hosted by the Southwest chapter of MMNA (Maheshwari Mahasabha of North America) and held at the Marriott Marquis […]
BANA Houston Stages a Vibrant Drama: Ugna-Vidyapati
By Vinay Karna HOUSTON: While Houstonians were reeling through thanksgiving dinner amid sprinkling rains, drama performers were rehearsing for a vibrant drama. On November 26, 2022, the performers, under the banner of Bihar Association of North America (BANA), performed a mesmerizing drama Ugna – Vidyapati, a tale of Bhavanipur, at the auditorium of Houston Durgabadi […]
Margaritaville Lake Resort Honors the Cultural Traditions of South Asian Weddings
HOUSTON: Located about an hour north of the Houston area, a lush, tropical oasis on a secluded lakefront awaits – Margaritaville Lake Resort, Lake Conroe | Houston. A destination in itself, the resort offers the perfect setting to carry out the time-honored traditions of South Asian weddings. “Our wide array of venues, amenities, and activities […]
‘Bhediya’: Quite the Rumble in the Jungle
By Shubhra Gupta Cast: Varun Dhawan, Abhishek Banerjee, Paalin Kabak, Deepak Dobriyal, Kriti Sanon Director: Amar Kaushik Rating: 3 stars Humans turning into werewolves is such a familiar trope that the thought of seeing yet another version wasn’t making me jump: I’m happy to report that much of ‘Bhediya’, in which a principal character turns into an […]
‘Drishyam 2’: Not as Smooth as Last Time
Bollywood isn’t really known for pulling off suspense thrillers, certainly not for sustaining the steam over a sequel. But, like Drishyam in 2015, Drishyam 2 lulls you with its modest settings, simple characters, human cops, and a family caught in events beyond its control, till it lands home its lesson a second time — it’s […]
Intriguing Drama “Blind Justice” Draws Support for Udavum Karangal
By Jawahar Malhotra PEARLAND: As the curtain opened, the first set came into view: an Indian court with the high bench for the judge and dockets for the accused and the witnesses on either side. Two Indian flags and the national tri-lion emblem attached on the wall above the judge completed the scene in all […]
Nepalese Artist Lain Singh Bangdel Paintings on Exhibit at Asia Society
HOUSTON: Asia Society Texas (AST) announces its newest exhibition, Lain Singh Bangdel: Moon Over Kathmandu, featuring the abstract modernist work of polymath, novelist, art historian, preservationist, academician, and painter, Lain Singh Bangdel. Made up of approximately 20 works, the exhibition is the first solo show by a Nepali artist at any Asia Society site, and […]
‘Classically Yours with Jyoti’ in 2nd Year
HOUSTON: Classically Yours with Jyoti’ program celebrated its first year anniversary recently at the studio with wellwishers and patrons. You can catch the program every third Saturday 3 to 4 pm on Masala Radio FM 98.7 as part of Indo-American News Unplugged with Jyoti playing songs based on Classical Indian music with Sudhir Golikeri . […]
‘Uunchai’: A Heartfelt Ode to Friendship
By Shalini Langer This is as far as it gets from a Sooraj Barjatya film. It also avoids the melodrama that movies of this kind tend to lapse into, though it can’t resist the temptation to stretch the length to at least an hour more than it should be. Still, how often do you get to […]
Classical Arts Society Presents the Brilliant Sikkil Gurucharan
By Ranjana Narasiman It is very rare that traditional purists of Carnatic music and seekers of contemporary aesthetics in Carnatic music see eye to eye on the merits of any concert. However the versatile and inimitable Sikkil Gurucharan has indeed succeeded in bridging the gaps between these opposing camps, holding all his listeners captive under […]
