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Loins of Punjab Presents: PFC Exclusive
Wacky but rational. That’s what Loins of Punjab Presents (LOPP) is. Profanity mouthing bhangra turbunators, a conservative gujju beauty dreaming of Italian ramp success, kitty party revenge schemes, a geek finally having a beautiful girlfriend in the third dimension – the number of paradox’s in this film will leave you amused and stumped. And then you have the mystery of the Pork Loins.
Winner of the best film at the First Run Film Festival at NYU, this graduation and debut film of Manish Acharya is right there with the best of the NextGen/satirical cinema made by “Desi’s” in the US. For a while we have been having films that deal so much with identity of Indian’s here in a foreign land and about the humor they bring in to everyday life with their mannerisms, LOPP goes ahead with maturity to bring out the reality in most of the resident population here.
Set to the backdrop of a game show on the lines of American Idol, this film shot between New Jersey and Mumbai couldn’t have come out at a better time when the whole Sanjaya craze has caught the fancy of the entire Indian Diaspora and at a time when the term ‘Desi’ is as frequently used back home as it is in the US. ‘Desi Idol’ as the game is called is set to happen over a weekend in New Jersey which is sponsored by a large pork loins selling company managed by a second generation desi.
The characters used to tell the happenings of the game show are a stand out in themselves as all of them have a reason to be there and have a motive to win the contest. The contestants are a mix of bollywood wannabe’s to arrogant socialites, gay rapper’s to nerdy accountants, conservative southie’s to age defying I-want-my-day-in-the-sun stereotypes.
The cast, a combination of professional NY actors to first time NJ residents - mainstream Indian cinema artists - to the overly shy director, an ensemble that will leave you in splits for the better part of the movie. Ajay Naidu leads the NY team playing the role of turbanotorious B.D.G., a rapper in search of spotlight. Have seen him in the Isaac and Ishmael episode of West Wing and he is fabulous. Samrat Chakrabarti as Trance Sen, Ishitta Sharma as Preeti Patel and the very own Shabana Azmi as the desi version of P3 socialite, Rrita Kapoor add the personalities needed to weave a tale around the prejudices and fallacies when chasing fame and success.
But the best part of the movie lies in two small packages - Jameel Khan playing the role of Mr. Bokade, the event manager for the entire contest and the Pork Loins itself. If you thought you have seen it all and that you think that we have no more downright humorous guys around, thank Manish for writing Mr. Bokade. This character is enough to take the movie to a different orbit altogether.
The film however has its own limitations depending upon what type of a moviegoer you are. The entire initial part of the film throws random pointers at you about certain instances which after the first few will make you realize that they will be used to solve the puzzle in the end, but discount them; you have a script that is smooth and flawless. The story stems from a reason, moves quickly and finishes before your mind wanders. Manish, being a first time director definitely answers some of the questions that rise whenever a product of a film school graduate comes up, as he makes use of his experience of more than 25 other graduate school films to conclusively streamline his story.
The reason why LOPP works is because Manish has told a story which is so close to being a masala film but when you feel that it is going on the beaten track, it adds that much needed sensibility and courage, and adds a realistic poise to the story which at first may seem a little too hard to digest but probably after the initial feeling of euphoria sinks, will make the viewer go – why not?
As Manish put it himself, he’s made the film. The easy part is done. Now he has the challenging task at hand to make this film into a movie, sell it to the distributors, woo the audience and gain confidence to come back and make more films. Here’s wishing him all the best from the entire PFC team.
[youtube]HOe2Szy9AgI[/youtube]
24 Responses to “Loins of Punjab Presents: PFC Exclusive”
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=)) as kk would put it, the trailer is howlarious.. “the loin king” and the mug.. oh man the mug :)) i want one! looking forward to this one!
oh.. and the music is PERFECT.
atlast… [-o<
And finally this review sees the light of day! Ravptor, next time miloonga tho iske liye daaru pilaoonga (next time meet you then this for drink I make you drink). Eagerly awaiting this film!
Finally U are on PFC :d
Good one Man!
Looks like yet another diasporic spoofy take on the Indian massala film genre, not a single idea that sounds truly fresh, yet looking forward to watching it with an equal mix of hope and skepticism.
Ooooh Shilpa … a cruel blow straight to the heeart. You guys don’t take any prisoners here at PFC, do you? 8-|
My general feeling is … and unfortunately even that isn’t a fresh idea … that very few, if any, stories remain untold. In fact, the true artistry of the storyteller, and the freshness of the tale, may lie in how the storyteller tells the story, as opposed to what story s/he tells.
My two favorite examples of this are “Reservoir Dogs” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” The former was the story of a bank robbery gone awry complete with a police informer, etc. The latter–a boy meets girl story. The artistry of both of course is in HOW Tarantino and Gondry told their respective stories.
I definitely don’t intend to compare myself to these guys … but please do give my movie a chance. Maybe you’ll feel the same as the reviewer on imdb did. “The greater, and more lasting, joy of the film is the manner in which it springboards off the several dramas to comment on a range of contemporary obsessions. In a genre that is weighed down by clich
Trailer is hilarious - is an understatement…
Cant wait for the flick…
My ARYA lead is in the film - SAMRAT CHAKRABARTI - thats a bonus :)
Manish, when is this releasing?
Regards, JMD - Manan Singh KATOHORA
manish all the best..:@)waiting
Hey Manish! Thanks for reaching out. I am certainly looking forward to seeing your film, as I mentioned earlier. You’ll agree that given the history of NRI and Indian diaspora film, my slepticism is not entirely unjustified. Wish you the very best for your film.
Oz bhai: That’s it??? :((
Vijay: Actually I have more than one reason to buy you a drink. Thanks for the “maal” transfer.
Saurabh: Thanks bro!
Striker: Tho kahan hai KK?
Manan Katora
I get emails from some yahoo group with your name on it. The problem is I did not suscribe to it. But that would have been ok if it was film related & I get emails related to films.
Yesterday I got a completely unrelated email from someone called Gurmeet Singh.
I’m going to paste it here for you-
Subject - [manansinghkatohora] SACC’s Professional Networking Dinner - June 13th @ 6:30pm
Dear Friends:
I look forward to seeing you at our next SACC’s Professional’s
Networking Dinner on June 13th, 2007 at 6:30pm at Akbar - 2 South
Street, Garden City (516-357-8300).
Please note our speaker for the June 13th meeting is Mr. Alan Geier
from
Forest Hills Financial Group.
Cost for dinner and drinks is only $40. A chance to network with finest
professionals is absolutely FREE…
Please note your calendars for our future meetings. Our speakers will
be:
July 11th - CHANBIR KAUR / SANJAY SHETTY from CITIBANK (details to
follow).
RSVP to either of the following:
Jaspreet S. Mayall at - jmayall@certilmanbalin.com;
Victor (Vikas) Singh at - victor@intouch-concepts.com;
Gurmeet K. Sodhi at - gurmeetks2003@yahoo.com;
LLony Majumdar at - llony.majumdar@wamu.net;
Gurmeet K. Sodhi
Ph: 516-662-5215
Fx: 516-941-0799
**************
Now what is SACC? And how is it related to you?
I just unsubscribed myself from that group.
Nothing personal. But I think its unethical to add someone without their approval. My best wishes for whatever you are doing, esp if it is film related.
cheers
mAINAK
“WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME, THE WORLD WASN”T FALLING APART”
************
Last film - Grumpier Old Men (5/10)
Song - Whatever Happened to my Rock N Roll by BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB
[COMMENT DELETED BY EDITOR]
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Manish you’re right. No prisoners taken here. But definitely looking forward to the film. The issue is that with Indian-American diaspora films, the cliche’s about identity crises and FOB vs. ABCD conflict has been abused to such an extent, that even when a film like yours, which promises something different comes along, the Am-des audience is skeptical. But my belief is that no matter what, a good story that is told captivatingly will always be successful.
While I agree that much depends on how a story is told, I must disagree that there are few stories left to be told. A story is not just about theme or plot. The circumstances, the characters, the setting all become the story. And in that right, I think there are plenty of stories about Indian-Americans that still remain to be told. Unfortunately, the rich doctor uncles and aunties, who for the most part bankroll these films are only interested if they are replicas of American Desi.
Looking forward for this one…..
@ravptor….Dude..your writing is so freaking good…why the hell dont you write often….come on man….plss dont tell me about time…i aint taking that…Keep writing buddy
waiting for this one. looks fun. sure going to watch it once its out here in india.
:(:(:|:|:|:):):):”>:”>:”>:d/:d/o:-):)):)):))<:-p<:-p<:-p:)]:)]:*:*:o):o):o):@):@)=))=))=))=))^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^$-)$-):):)Such trailer brings all back.~o)
Hi guys!
Thanks for the good wishes.
Let me try to answer the questions you guys have raised.
About release plans … the Indian distributors are quite excited about the film and are eager to release in India. However, none of them (and they admit it) has the ability to market internationally beyond the expatriate Desis. Given that non-desi audiences have also really enjoyed the film in preview screenings, we feel that we should try and get a “mainstream” distributor, one of the mini-majors, to take this film out in the US. And therefore, the release date is in flux. I think we should have more clarity on this by the end of June.
As an aside, it is tough to get a US distributor behind this … it’s brown people speaking English, and without an exotic India as a backdrop. I mean the movie is set in New Jersey!!! Brown people speak in English and sing songs in Hindi?!? And it isn’t based on a famous book. You can see why the positioning matrices and marketing strategies don’t necessarily apply.
And Shilpa … I completely agree and endorse your skepticism. Hell, if I wasn’t the filmmaker, I might be less charitable than you have been. We have been inundated with stuff that has been less than … well, you know. I am hoping this movie is a bit different. The cast is truly extraordinary (and not just the BIG names) and we had a great crew as well. This movie may have started because of me but very soon, it took on a life of its own. And it is this life, and current form, that I am hoping many many people get to see.
Vijay, at a reductionist level, most stories are about very basic emotions and character archetypes. And so maybe they’ve all been told. It is our additions of place and situations and characters, that make these unique. I think though that we are in violent agreement, and are just using different semantics.
By the way, even though this is not very important, I thought I should mention this. This movie was not financed by rich uncles and aunties, but reasonably well-off “young uns” who did well in startups, etc. Thankfully, the investors really took a back seat once the money was deposited in the bank. I couldn’t have asked for more supportive backers.
Once again though, thanks for all the support.
I’m a friend of Acharya’s but an even bigger skeptic of the crap ABCD film genre. ‘Loins’ doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same breath, it’s so well-written. It’s sui generis.
Manish,
Googled myself, not much, googled you and came upon this site! Write back…
Manish Acharya,
Pal connect with me offline - would like to help you with LOPP non-India Distribution…
u can send me an email @
katohora_groups[AT]yahoo[DOT]com
Regards, JMD - Manan Singh KATOHORA
good! life in metro! chini kum!
Any updates on the release date?
:d/
Hi mr manish ,
i am watching u r moveis ,realy fun ,love this
movies ,
any next project -film .please regads ,
Lucky .
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