The Grewals: Typically Desi

I'm definitely not hating here before I get my head bitten off BUT I am saying that the stars of Channel 4's second series of The Family, the Grewals are a tad too typical in my books.
You'd think that in 2009 there would be a British Indian family where the father doesn't order his wife about like a servant, barking "cup of tea" and the sort while she obeys his commands.
You'd also think that the day of the overly obedient daughter-in-law that cuts her saas'/saasu's/ma-in-law's toenails and threads her father-in-law's nose hairs was very much over.
Call me a coconut if you will but I thought squashing the whole family into one house stopped in the late 80's. I really think Channel 4 should have done some more research or looked at a family that was more 2009 rather than 1989.
In these times of rising BNP influence and mutlicultural Britain misunderstanding its neighbours, a family that isn't a stereotype might have opened a few minds instead of playing to the old stereotypes a la Masood or in this example, Grewal.

The Adil Ray Show...

I've been listening to the BBC Asian Network for about 5 years now and I've got to say the whole station is a fantastic concept.

My personal favourite shows are Nikki Bedi, Friction, the beginning pure bhangra part of Sonnyji's show and last but not least Adil Ray.

For me this guy single-handedly separates the men from the boys in Asian radio. Personally I think he's built for bigger things e.g. the Radio 1 breakfast slot.

Don't get me wrong I'm not one of those weirdo fans that camps outside his house or anything, in fact I've only called in once and text in twice the whole time I've been tuning in. What actually made me write this is a new job I've recently started.

When Adil moved from Drivetime to Breakfast, I stopped listening every day and listened back to about one show per week due to the early time slot. Since working this new (and may I add incredibly boring) job, I have the privilege of being allowed to listen to music on the job. Luckily for me my mobile has the iplayer software on it so I can catch up with my favourite Asian Network shows, as well as Eastenders, Panorama etc!

Listening to Adil on breakfast is definitely an uplifting experience for people like me who are like 100 year old zombies first thing in the morning. What really surprised me was how versatile he could be, catering for a drivetime audience one minute and then a breakfast one the next. Putting antics such as his prank calls, Nakami (adopted monkey from Malawi) and Karachi FM aside, his ability to make jokes out of anything is where I think his best gift lies.

It's gotten to the point where I'm listening to a show and I nearly bite the head off of any colleague who dares interrupt my listening time! I actually laugh out loud - something which I haven't done since the days of Goodness Gracious Me.

I don't want to feed his ego or anything but he's doing really well and I hope he keeps it up. I just feel it's a bit of a shame that his skills are currently restricted to one audience. Someone should get him on a Radio 1 slot, a lot of their daytime shows are getting VERY tired these days!

If you haven't heard an Adil Ray show before, tune in seriously, I've gotten friends Asian and non-Asian alike to tune in and each time they end up getting hooked.

Currently, he's doing the later breakfast slot of 7-10am.

Damn, I've just realised I've written the above post like I'm head of the Asian Network's programming or Adil's mother, I can assure you I'm neither. Check it out, this is just straight up appreciation!

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Slumdog Millionaire: The Review (Spoiler)

Wow. What a film. A hot score by A.R.Rahman. A looong list of awards and an international following makes this a definite "one to watch."

Indian "Slum" films seem to be rising in number and I'm not complaining. Each one shows the real Mumbai from a different viewpoint. Slumdog differs. How?

Instead of just showing the gritty streets of Mumbai, the poverty, the life of children, gangs, etc Slumdog is intertwined with a story.

Not just any story either, one that people in over 100 countries will be able to understand/laugh at. Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), a teen who grew up in the slums, is accused of cheating on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

The first scenes show Jamal being tortured by the police in an attempt to get a confession out of him. After allowing a few beatings and an electric shock, the head police officer, played by Irrfan Khan, tries the more diplomatic approach of listening.

He asks Jamal what the whole country is thinking; how can a slum boy know the answers to questions that doctors and lawyers can't even answer? Questions such as "What does Lord Rama hold in his right hand," and "Who's face is on the $100 bill?" Jamal goes through each question with a backstory of how he knows the answer.

For those that haven't seen the film I won't go into the most important question regarding the Three Muskateers.

Aside from explaining how he knows the answers, Jamal's interesting life story is also inevitably told. You begin to question, would a slum teen actually know the answers to the questions on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire or is the whole story slightly far-fetched. Is he really cheating and just lying his way through the police interrogation? If you pick a random slum teenager they probably could answer some of the questions posed with the same logic used by young Jamal.

The fact that the above, although a major coincidence, could happen makes me love this underdog story. The fluke, the backstories and the love tale allow this film to stand next to some of my other slum favourites namely, D, Salaam Bombay, Traffic Signal and Chandni Bar.

The one qualm I do have with this film is that I like many others would like to know how much "directing" Danny Boyle actually did. I believe Loveleen Tandan did a great job as Co-Director and the Danny Boyle name has helped give this film the publicity it needs in the UK and US.

The Undercover Princes - BBC3

Arguably, one of the most prominent gay personas present in India, Gujarat's own, Prince Mahendra (43) is set to hit UK screens along side Prince Africa Zulu (Zulu, South Africa) and Prince Remigius (Sri Lanka) in BBC3 show - The Undercover Princes.

Set in a snug terrace on Brighton beach, the three princes will be taking everyday jobs, ditching their servants and hoping to find true love.

Hiding the fact that they are loaded and more importantly, royalty, the three singles will hit up clubs, bars, speed dating nights and other venues frequented by the young and free.

Hailing from Rajpipla, Gujarat, Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil has already appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show back in 2007 in the featured show "Gay Around the World."

He was recently cut-off from the family fortune and disowned by his mother for coming out. A little while after he was welcomed back!

The prince is currently one of India's well known gay rights activists and an AIDs awareness campaigners.

Though campaigners have managed to strengthen their plea to decriminalise homosexuality, it still remains illegal under an old British law and a taboo subject throughout Indian society.

Either way, the show looks promising, I just hope this time round, India's export doesn't get involved in any major rows *cough* Shilpa *cough*

Indian's without drama? It's possible...

India stop cricket tour...

About the Pakistan tour...
Its politically the right thing to do.

If a country you believe trains terrorists and sends them over to blow up one of your prized cities and then wants to play cricket with you, would you do it?

Sending the players over to such a volatile nation especially at a time like this would be asking for trouble. Imagine if the next headline you read would say "Indian Cricket Team die in Pakistani bomb blasts....Pakistan denies any involvement"

This is about more than cricket and we should stop being selfish just because we want to see the games.

India is still being far too diplomatic, they should have stopped ALL activities with Pakistan as soon as they found out where young Ajmal was from.

This should continue until Pakistani society condemns their army and ISI for sponsoring terror against India and stops the killing of innocent lives. The usual "Pakistan is also a victim" is getting tired. It is their creation and they should do something about it or I predict more than cricket will be taken away from them.

What'll be next India's support for rising Pakistani films, filmstars and singers?

Mumbai attacks, Initial thoughts...

I was born in the UK, I've lived there my whole life. However, I have made many trips to the country closest to my heart, India. I love the UK as it is the country that raised me, but I have a strong(er?) affinity to India as it is my country of origin and the reason my skin is brown!

At the time of the recent 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, I happened to be in India (luckily not in Mumbai). When I woke up out of my comfy and relatively safe bed in Delhi, I saw my dad had his eyes glued to biased news channel NDTV.

As soon as I saw what was going on, I like the rest of the country felt a series of emotions for Mumbai and India.

The first and foremost was the obvious anger. Secondly violation. Thirdly a sense of hopelessness.

Anger: My anger came from the fact that again India had been held helpless to another terrorist threat. After all these times since partition why does the country allow this to happen time and time again? It just seems that whatever the government, terrorism is not taken seriously.

Violation: 10-25 people brought one of the world's largest cities to it's knees. A shopkeeper in Delhi said to me; if 20 terrorists can turn Mumbai to a complete standstill, then 100 terrorists would probably take down the whole of India!

Hopelessness: It's been just over a week since the attacks and the usual lazy and worthless attitude of the government is starting to show again. The results of the state elections will be out soon, Desmukh has gone - people think some action is being taken. Mr. Pranab says "We do not want to take military action against Pakistan, he then gives the list of 20 of India's wanted terrorists - a list which has been sent back and forth godknows how many times. Condelizza Rice came to do what politicians do best, talk and smile. Russia signed a nuclear deal. Things slowly seem to be going back to normal. The same corrupt, lazy individuals are getting away with lining their pockets and doing nothing.

The only way forward now is to unite and do something to show the government India is serious.