A major film awards ceremony was held yesterday. No, I'm not talking about Cannes (although I've been heartened to find this year's festival having a higher profile here in the US than previous years --no doubt due to the notoriety surrounding Micheal Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 and it's moving and unprecedented reception at the festival, and, of course, Quentin Tarantino's provocative presence as the jury president-- or perhaps I've been reading too many blogs). I'm referring to the International Indian Film Awards, which were presented in Singapore yesterday. The ceremony's big winner was Kal Ho Naa Ho, a love triangle drama shot in New York, which garnered the best film award. One of its stars, Preity Zinta (who also writes a column for the BBC South Asia page) came away with the Best Actress honors.
I readily admit that I have a severe blindspot when it comes to Indian popular film (although I must admit a fascination with what little snippets I've seen of Indian horror movies and their outlandish set pieces shot with shoe-string abandon), but who's to say that Kal Ho Naa Ho couldn't be a moderate hit in the art-house circuit? The movie is about Indian immigrants in New York and the conflict between old world ties and new world demands, which is, of course, one of the great themes in American art. Of course, this time, Americans didn't make it, but Indians. In spite of Kal Ho Naa Ho's soap opera trappings, the film could lend us a different persective on the immigrant experience, amidst all the hoopla and song and dance numbers.
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