Comments on: Sunday Reading for Smarty Pants

By: elizabeth

elizabeth — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:46:50 +0000

“That aside, I am a HUGE fan of Irfaan Khan [you see him in Maqbool, right? and even in Namesake he was brilliant].”

o yes, he (and Tabu) were really the emotional center of Namesake; I wasn’t half as interested the Kal Penn stuff. re: Khan, I also went (some months ago, in the company of bulleyah) to see him in ‘The Warrior’; a strange film but also a very good performance.

By: Rajaa

Rajaa — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 18:26:41 +0000

I am going to watch Transformers today… lets see how that works out… and Ratatuoille was not that bad, what more could you expect out of a cartoon :)

You haven’t watched live free or die hard? Absolutely awesome movie :)

By: sepoy

sepoy — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 04:47:12 +0000

I am determined not to see it – just the paperback version of her memoir featuring Angelina Jolie on the cover made my stomach turn. I think Asra Nomani’s oped in the WaPo mirrored most of my reservations. Adding to that, is the fact that I am really wary of Hollywood turning a buck on these living tragedies.

That aside, I am a HUGE fan of Irfaan Khan [you see him in Maqbool, right? and even in Namesake he was brilliant]. And I even like most of Winterbottom’s stuff.

By: elizabeth

elizabeth — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 18:43:10 +0000

The Barney Rubin piece is awesome, thanks. And I look forward to reading yr review of the Irwin book.

“Ratatouille, which should be a big hit at CM since it is all about becoming snotty and high-brow”

…hahaha. Clearly must see it at once. And hey, speaking of Winterbottom &tc., I have been wondering if you have seen/are planning to see ‘A Mighty Heart,’ and if so, what you think of it. A dear friend (born & raised in Karachi, now resident in more pallid climes) watched it last week and had some interesting & complex reactions. I am still wavering about whether to go, but I did think ‘Road to Guantanamo’ was good, and I am also very fond of Irfan Khan.

By: sepoy

sepoy — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 13:21:05 +0000

zp: i agree, the whole thing read like a michael winterbottom script and maybe thats where it is headed.

By: zp

zp — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 14:11:22 +0000

I read on the blogs someone calling Anderson “courageous” – dear me! I thought the violence was gratuitous. Did he really need to get shot at to cover that story in the way that he did cover it? I felt I’d heard, seen, read it before…

And I wish the rat movie had been a musical. Or silent.

By: Desi Italiana

Desi Italiana — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 08:38:39 +0000

Oh god, scratch #5, The Children of Shahida. I’m tired of formulaic books.

By: Desi Italiana

Desi Italiana — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 08:30:50 +0000

On my shelf at work and in front of my bed (not next to my bed as I have no nightstand):

1. Maximum City (I know, I know- I’m always like six years late with everything…there’s a weird, reflexive mechanism that kicks in when books, CD’s, performers, et al are really famous/big hit and I refuse to read/listen/watch. Then I’ll pick it up years later when all the commotion is over).

2. A Fine Balance: It’s in the third person point of view, which I don’t like- I prefer reading books in the first person. But hey, I’ll try this one.

3. A Portrait of India

4. The Writings of Eqbal Ahmad

5. Shahida

6. Tom Segev’s 1967

7. John Pilger’s Freedom Next Time

8. Robert Fisk’s The Great War For Civilization: The Conquest of the Middle East

9. Urvashi Butalia’s The Other Side of Silence (read it before, but want to re-read it)

10. Albert Hourani’s The History of the Arab Peoples (read it, but want to re-read it because I like fantacizing about the past)

11. Nirad Chaudri’s The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian

12. Another RK Narayan book that’s not The Guide

13. Some Khushwant Singh

14. Suresh Joshi in Gujarati

15. Deepak Chopra (just kidding)

And a whole slew of books that have to do with economic hit men, the feminization of labor, the global service class, South Asia. Also, lots of authors and books that I’ve been trying to find porever, but can’t find- unless I order it from Amazon.com, but I’m really frightened to use my debit card online.