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Issue 7, Friday 26th April 2002

Greetings Curry Lovers!

Tongues on Fire logo The'Tongues on Fire South Asian Women's Festival 2002' is in full swing, offering an unrivalled opportunity to catch up on films by and about South Asian Women. *BOOK NOW* for the Wednesday 1st May screening of 'Bend it Like Beckham' - the director and members of the cast will be there to discuss the film with you; Sunday 5th May to hear Meera Syal talk about Asian women in comedy and Saturday 18th May 2002 for 'Rippling Echoes' the finale to the festival. Tickets for all three events are nearly sold out.

FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

Saturday 27th April 2002

Salaam Bombay!
The first feature from documentarist Mira Nair is a heavily researched story about an 11 year-old street boy trying to make his way living in Bombay's red-light district. Through his experiences we see the patterns of abuse and affection linking characters in this community, who are all seen with considerable compassion.
NFT2 3.20pm. Again on Mon 29 Apr NFT2, 8.45pm.

Kama Sutra
Also by Mira Nair, this film is a seductive, sexual and visually stunning exploration of friendship and rivalry between a princess and a servant in the sixteenth-century Indian court. The servant girl seduces the princess' groom on the wedding night. Both women use the teachings of the Kama Sutra, the ancient treatise on love and sexuality as weapons in their complex relationships. Rekha plays the consummate courtesan who trains the young women in the erotic arts. NFT2 8.40pm. Again on Saturday 4th May NFT2, 8.40pm.

Daughters of this Century
Veteran director Tapan Sinha planned this film as a millennial tribute to Indian women. It comprises five short stories about female oppression by reputed writers of the twentieth-century, including Rabindranath Tagore whose story concerns victimisation due to ignorance and superstition. Shabana Azmi delivers a powerful performance as the widow Kadambini and Jaya Bachchan plays the untouchable Abhagi in a story of tragic poverty. NFT 2, 5.40pm

Kabhi Kabhie (Sometimes)
Yash Chopra's epic romance 'Kabhi Kabhie' is a story about a young poet Amit (Amitabh Bachchan) and beautiful Pooja (Rakhee Gulzar). Amit and Pooja imaging a perfect future together, but destiny has other plans. Pooja bows to the wishes of her parents and marries Vijay (Shashi Kapoor). Amit drifts away from his poetry and attempts to leave behind his memories of Pooja by marrying Anjali (Waheeda Rehman). NFT1, 6.30pm

The screening will be followed by an interview with Yash Chopra arguably India's most successful director of commercial films. His position in the Hindi film industry is unique and he is now the subject of a new biography by Rachel Dwyer.
NFT1 8.00pm

Venue: National Film Theatre, South Bank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XT. Click here for venue map. Tickets cost £7.20 , Concs. £5.50 (NFT Members £6.20/£4.50)
0207 928 3232. Click here for the NFT website.

Monday 29th April 2002

'Mitr' (My Friend)
California's Silicon Valley is home to a large Indian-American population and Revathy's film uses the experiences of one fictional family to explore the feelings of doubts and disenchantment that afflict women who have neglected their own needs in favour of family. NFT 2, 6.20pm

Tuesday 30th April 2002 -

Young Tongues Event
Organised by the BFI, the 'Young Tongues' event will present works of GCSE & A-Level students of Harrow and other North West London schools and colleges. Gareth Thomas MP is the guest of honour and the discussion will be chaired by Satwant Gill and Varsha Patel.
NFT 1, 11.00am - 1.30pm

Monsoon Wedding
Why do Indian weddings bring out the worst in people? Is it the close proximity in which relatives (who do not really like each other much anyway) have to live together for the festivities? Or is it just because you see people as they really are? Mira Nair's brilliant film 'Monsoon Wedding' follows all the participants in a modern-day Delhi wedding. Foot-tapping music and a riot of colours invoke the visual style of Nair's earlier film 'Salaam Bombay'. NFT 1, 6.15pm. Again on Thu 2nd May,
NFT 1 6.15pm and Fri 3rd May, 6.20pm.

Mississippi Masala
Mira Nair's second film deals with the issue of racism in an Indian migrant family. A family expelled from Uganda in 1972 by Idi Amin now manage a motel in small-town Mississippi. When the daughter falls in love with a black man, played by Oscar-winner Denzel Washington, two worlds collide and frightful memories of the expulsion are relived, unveiling deep-seated prejudice and insecurities. NFT 2, 8.40pm. Again on Sat 4th May NFT 2, 3.45pm.

Wednesday 1st May 2002

'Daughters of History'.
Conventional accounts of the 1971 liberation struggle in Bangladesh have focused on male leadership and courage. The role of women in the movement is veritably absent from its annals. Director Shameen Akhter offers a different perspective and approach to understand and appreciate women's involvement in the freedom struggle in a feminist re-reading of national history. NFT 2, 6.00pm

Bend it Like Beckham
Mixing fantasy with football from a feminine perspective, Gurinder Chadha's feature film explores the conflicts and contradictions of being young, female, Asian and soccer obsessed. Eigtheen-year-old Jess's parents want her to be a demure daughter like her sister Pinky. Jess wants nothing more than to be like her hero, David Beckham. When she joins her local ladies football team she is forced to choose between duty and passion, family and football. This screening will be followed by a Q&A session with Director Gurinder Chadha, scriptwriter Paul Berges and members of the film cast. NFT1 8.20pm.

Thursday 2nd May 2002

'India Cabaret' and 'The Laughing Club of India'
Two documentaries by Nair. The multi-award-winner 'India Cabaret' explores stereotyped notions of respectability and morality in Indian women, focusing on two Bombay strippers, while 'The Laughing Club of India' concerns a rather different kind of institution, the clubs where, for health reasons people gather for the business of seriously for 40 minutes of a day. NFT 2, 8.40pm

Friday 3rd may 2002

The Guardian Interview with Mira Nair.
Mira Nair's career has spanned continents and genres. Born in India and educated at Harvard, an early interest in acting soon saw Nair move behind the camera. A number of acclaimed documentaries were followed by Academy-Award nominated 'Salaam Bombay!' and the love story 'Mississippi Masala'. Her current film 'Monsoon Wedding' is one of the "must see" movies this year. NFT1, 8.45pm

'Mother India'
Nominated for an Oscar in 1958, 'Mother India' remains one of the enduring classics of Indian commercial cinema. Director Mehboob Khan controls the film's emotional rollercoaster ride masterfully through many spectacular action sequences from epic flood scenes to the joy of Indian weddings. It tells the story of Radha, the quintessential village woman (played by legendary Nargis), who discovers that she has been married into a family in considerable debt. But she loves her new husband (Raaj Kumar) and toils with him in the fields to pay off the local money lender, Sukhilala. He outsmarts them however and the debts rise. After a terrible accident Radha is left to face the future alone, and against impossible odds she battles to protect her honour, children and ultimately her village. NFT3, 2.00pm and 7.00pm.

The screening of 'Mother India' is brought to you by Imagine Asia, a celebration of South Asian film by the BFI (British Film Institute).

Saturday 4th May 2002

'Babu'
Actress Zeba Bakhtiar makes her directorial debut with a melodrama about love, lust and respectability. Inspired by real-life characters she met eight years ago, Bakhtiar felt compelled to make a story that reflects injustice. Babu is the illegitimate son of a businessman who transports young women to Dubai. He falls in love with the orphan Ghazal, who is being groomed by his mother for the trade in flesh NFT 2, 6.00pm.

Sunday 5th May 2002

Meera Syal talks about 'Asian Women in Comedy'.
Meera Syal
Meera Syal was commissioned by the BBC to write a three-part series, 'My Sister Wife', a story looking at both a traditional and modern idea of marriage. Her screenplay, 'Bhaji on the Beach', aroused both praise and criticism from Asian community leaders. She co-wrote and starred in the BBC2 hit comedy series 'Goodness Gracious Me'. Her first novel, the best-selling 'Anita and Me', won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Prize. It is currently being filmed in the UK. Her most recent novel 'Life Isn't all Ha Ha Hee Hee' is reviewed on this site. NFT1, 6.15pm

Friday 10th May 2002

Bollywood Dreams - Images from Bollywood Cinema
Amrik Chhokran's exhibition of photography 'Bollywood Dreams' aims to be the purest form of distraction and escapism for its audience. Using influences from Pop Art, Dada, Surrealism, Film, Bollywood, Music, Popular Culture and Hindu Philosophy Chhokran's work digitally manipulates images using layers, montage, collage and text over images using the latest in computer technology. Nehru Centre, 6.45pm.

'Dancing at the Crossroads'.
This is a documentary of 40 Western women's journey to Tibet for an audience with the Dalai Lama. Nehru Centre, 6.30pm.

Venue: The Nehru Centre, 8 South Audley Street, London, W1K 1HF. Click here to view map
0207 491 3567. Click here for The Nehru Centre website.

Saturday 18th May 2002

Rippling Echoes
'Tongues on Fire' in association with haute-couture house 'Chiffons' brings together the stage event 'Rippling Echoes' in an explosion of colour, movement, and fashion. Pali Chandra (Creative Director) and his team of vibrant artists and technicians will take you on a journey of Bollywood style and fashion.
BAFTA, 6.30pm.

Venue: BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LN. Click here for a venue map.
0208 965 7578.

FESTIVAL ENDS.

Until next time,
Lopa Patel (Editor - redhotcurry.com)

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