iiF Awards, Hindi Cinema, 2018
The fourth edition of our custom-made iiF Awards is here. Rewarding the best and worst of Hindi cinema in 2018.
The Third Wheels of 2016
Our list of the "third wheels" in Hindi cinema of 2016 -- the unsung side-heroes, fleeting faces and cameos of films this year.
IIF Awards, Hindi Cinema, 2016
Our year-ender piece -- an 'awards' take, with various dubious and real categories, on the best and worst of Hindi cinema (Bollywood) in 2016.
IIF Awards, Hindi Cinema, 2015
In our inaugural annual list, we choose the best technical, all-around and artistic efforts of Hindi films in 2015.
The Third Wheels of 2015
We look back at some of the best, under-the-radar supporting performances - both male and female - in Hindi films in 2015.
In Conversation with the guys behind SAIFF
The South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) is going to celebrate it's 10th anniversary this year. The program has come a long way since 2003. It's gained a sponsorship from HBO and even withstood a hurricane. This year, the festival will run from December 3rd through December 8th. In honor of it's 10th year, I had the chance to sit down with Festival Founder Shilen Amin and Program Director Galen Rosenthal to discuss where SAIFF has been and where it's going. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laUWC_zqGTw iiF: How has the festival changed and improved in its 10th year? Shilen Amin: It's definitely gotten easier to [...]
In conversation with the geniuses behind ‘Farah Goes Bang’ (Part 3)
A while back, I had the distinct pleasure of catching up with the lovely ladies behind the Tribeca sensation, “Farah Goes Bang.” Writer/Director Meera Menon and Writer/Producer Laura Goode shed light on women in film, brown people, virginity and even carnivals during our discussion. I was hoping to put the entire interview in one post, but I think we had too much fun talking for close to an hour. I also thought 3,000 words in one page would be overkill. So here is the final part of this fantastic conversation. Part three discusses the race and gender questions that went [...]
In conversation with the geniuses behind ‘Farah Goes Bang’ (Part 2)
A while back, I had the distinct pleasure of catching up with the lovely ladies behind the Tribeca sensation, “Farah Goes Bang.” Writer/Director Meera Menon and Writer/Producer Laura Goode shed light on women in film, brown people, virginity and even carnivals during our discussion. I was hoping to put the entire interview in one post, but I think we had too much fun talking for close to an hour. I also thought 3,000 words in one page would be overkill. So I’m going to ease you all into this fantastic conversation. Part two reveals how Laura and Meera got the [...]
In conversation with the geniuses behind ‘Farah Goes Bang’ (Part 1)
A while back, I had the distinct pleasure of catching up with the lovely ladies behind the Tribeca sensation, "Farah Goes Bang." Writer/Director Meera Menon and Writer/Producer Laura Goode shed light on women in film, brown people, virginity and even carnivals during our discussion. I was hoping to put the entire interview in one post, but I think we had too much fun talking for close to an hour. I also thought 3,000 words in one page would be overkill. So I'm going to ease you all into this fantastic conversation. Part one reveals how Laura and Meera came together [...]
Tribeca Review: ‘Farah Goes Bang’
I have a confession to make. I've struggled a lot with this review. Not because my reaction to Meera Menon's feature debut was inconclusive. Quite the contrary. I knew I loved this movie the second the credits started rolling. In fact, I think I actually like it too much. As a result I refrained from writing about it for a long time. Maybe I thought I had too much to say, not enough to say or just not the right things to say. Either way, I've floundered long enough. Kandis Erickson, Nikohl Boosheri and Kiran Deol in "Farah Goes [...]
Confessions from Brown Hollywood with Kiran Deol
Last week I had the chance to sit down with the lovely and hilarious Kiran Deol during the Tribeca Film Festival. Deol plays the role of Roopa Raj in Meera Menon's award-winning film "Farah Goes Bang." In addition to being an actress who has appeared on shows like "Modern Family" and "Weeds", she also directed and developed an Emmy-nominated documentary called "Woman Rebel." If that wasn't enough, she's also a really funny stand-up comedian. Kiran Deol plays Roopa in "Farah Goes Bang" IIF: Tell me about how you got involved with this movie, "Farah Goes Bang." Deol: They released [...]
‘Farah Goes Bang’ director Meera Menon wins Nora Ephron Award at Tribeca
The first time is definitely the charm for Meera Menon as she received the 1st Annual Nora Ephron Award at the Tribeca Film Festival this morning for her feature debut "Farah Goes Bang." Kate French, Nikohl Boosheri and Kiran Deol in 'Farah Goes Bang'© Courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival Menon received the award this morning from TFF co-founder Jane Rosenthal and Vogue creative digital director, Sally Singer, according to a press release. Menon was selected among several other female directors at this year's festival and received $25,000 with the award. “We're thrilled to highlight Meera's work with this special award. We [...]
‘Beyond All Boundaries’, ‘Miss Lovely’ and others take home top honors at IFFLA
The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles announced their big winners Sunday and films like "Beyond All Boundaries" and "Miss Lovely" came away with some top awards. http://youtu.be/uSibAMDGYkc "Beyond All Boundaries" (by filmmaker Sushrut Jain) follows the stories of three Indians – a penniless superfan, a boy prodigy, and a girl cricketer during the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Jain crowdfunded some of the project on Kickstarter a couple of months ago and IIF had a chance to interview him about his work. Check that out right here. The film took home the Jury and Audience Award for Best Documentary. "Miss Lovely" (directed [...]
“Listen Amaya” Review
"Listen Amaya" by Avinash Kumar Singh was a very difficult film to review. Not because I didn't like it. Quite the contrary actually. I loved it. I found it pleasant, realistic, heartfelt and humorous with the appropriate amount of melodrama. But I also found it very personal. http://youtu.be/RY4xXvvHcdE The story is centered around a twenty something girl named Amaya (Swara Bhaskar) coming to grips with her widowed mother's new relationship. Her mother Leela (Deepti Naval) runs an off-beat cafe called Book A Coffee who falls in love with a regular at the shop, Jayant (Farooq Shaikh). Jayant (affectionately called Jazz by all the [...]
SAIFF 2012 Award Winners
The South Asian International Film Festival concluded Saturday night after a two week layoff thanks to Hurricane Sandy. "This was a historic year for us and the city. Besides introducing some amazing films and doing the Rising Star Film Awards, we also got hit with a storm," Shilen Amin, SAIFF's President and Founder, said. "So many of the films that we wanted to show did not make it to the screen but we were able to make up our closing night at least." The festival award winners were also officially announced Saturday night. Check out the winners below and the [...]
“Patang” Review
"Patang" is perhaps one of the most genuine films I have ever seen. The movie won awards for Best Director and Best Picture at the SAIFF Rising Stars Awards Ceremony a few weeks ago. It's a rare, unfiltered look at a world that is new and familiar at the same time. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_rOqsX-aY8 The story is simple. Jayesh (played brilliantly by Mukund Shukla), a successful businessman in Delhi, returns to visit his estranged family after five years in Ahmedabad for Uttarayan, the annual kite festival. Old wounds and family troubles arise as Bhargava effortlessly weaves the story of six different characters during this celebration. I'd [...]
Legendary actor Kabir Bedi accepts Star Foundation Award at SAIFF
The South Asian International Film Festival gave this year's Star Foundation Award to the legendary actor Kabir Bedi. It was introduced for the first time last year when it went to filmmaker Shekhar Kapur. Bedi received his award during the South Asian Rising Star Film Awards Tuesday night after he was introduced by SAIFF President and Founder, Shilen Amin. "Kabir has mastered all three entertainment outlets: film, television and theater. He has acted in over 60 Bollywood films [including] hits like 'Khoon Bhari Maang', 'Kurbaan', 'Main Hoon Na', as Emperor Shah Jahan in 'Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story' and a pivotal [...]