Indians in LA LA Land

Follow us:WhatsappFacebookTwitterTelegram.cls-1{fill:#4d4d4d;}.cls-2{fill:#fff;}Google NewsJust about a month ago, we were in Los Angeles for the Grammy awards. But, as the Oscars rolled around, there really wasn't the need to travel to LA to cover the event. That may sound strange, but the Indian interest at the Academy Awards didn't really exist in terms of Indian nominees unlike with the Grammy's.
While we were in LA, we did see the Kodak Theater where the Academy Awards function was held. It marks that part of LA, Hollywood actually, quite well - the world's capital of kitsch and glitz.

Right across the Graumann's Chinese Theater and the Walk of Fame, you find the souvenir stores with their knock-offs of the Oscar statuettes. Want to grab the Best Person Award? Pick one up and get it customized with your name. Strangely enough, there were no Grammy copies. But then this is the city of movies not music.

Actually, most of the area around Hollywood - Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, etc - seems to give off an artificial glitter even in daytime. Talking of kitsch, that brought to mind that Huey Lewis of the News song, Heart of Rock'n'Roll; especially these lines:
LA, Hollywood, and the Sunset StripIs something everyone should see.

As for those who saw the Academy awards, 2006 was disappointing once again. Once Shah Rukh Khan's Paheli didn't make the cut for the final nominees in the Foreign Film category, the Indian presence was... well... absent. That's not too strange. After all, it's just one category. And I believe things could change in the next couple of years.

But don't hold your breath for Indian nominees in the major acting categories. Look for them in the character roles or in the role of characters. The New York Times magazine has an annual list of major performances of the year. The 2004 group included Kal Penn, playing a slacker med school dropout in Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. In 2005, the selection was stranger still - Deep Roy who played, I think, 165 versions of Oompa Loompa in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

But go beyond the acting credits and you'll find a wealth of Indian talent mushrooming behind the camera. There are producers like Ashok Amritraj and Deepak Nayar.

And there are the directors. The better known ones are Mira Nair and Gurinder Chadha, but there's a whole new bunch of newbies making their presence felt: Jay Chandrasekhar, who directed the box office topper Dukes of Hazzard; Anand Tucker (Shopgirl); Nisha Ganatra (Cake)...

When it comes to onscreen talent, it takes decades for a community to break into Hollywood's rarified realm, as in the case of the Italians and the African-Americans. It'll be the same for Indians.

When it comes to directors, Hollywood is ethnic-blind. After all, Manoj Night Shayamalan is so bankable, he has been compared to Steven Spielberg. In fact, the Oscars telecast had a commercial, one of the longest I've ever seen, that focuses just on Night. Watch it at www.mylifemycard.com.

And, remember, that the Best Director award this year did go to Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee.

My bet is that sooner rather than later, one of these directors will be up there on the stage, holding an Oscar, mouthing political platitudes and thanking their parents. Now that's a Hollywood production I'd love to watch.first published:March 07, 2006, 10:52 ISTlast updated:March 07, 2006, 10:52 IST
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