Hi Folks,

In 1997, a new kind of concept hit the screens in America. It was not from the studios and it was from the generation that grew up in the US....oh, and that generation were for the most part, from the sub continent. A lot, if not most of them, had never faced the camera or even behind it professionally, a lot of them had met at Rutgers in NJ. The film was shot largely on a college campus in New Jersey. A team of three had put together the entire concept. One was a computer programmer, his brother a budding film statistician and the third an Investment banker with Credit Lyonaise, who had topped MIT, but decided acting or atleast part time acting was his calling. The programmer would be the director, the statistician the producer and the marketeer and the i banker the lead actor.

While the team was new, they were damn sure they wanted to do this right and to the best of their ability. So auditions were held. Second generations South Asian Actors showed up. It was a dream come true for them, cause while Bollywood would look at them with disdain, Hollwyood still had not opened up to them, so this was a good "in between." The one common theme with this entire set was tremedous passio and a hunger.

The hunger stemmed internally from being the first in their household who were attempting a film. It also came from their coming of age. Many of them grew up in either ultra conservative homes or neighborhoods where they were probably the only "desis." The fire to rebel was there, it was also, in the words of the intelligent director, "we can take away indianness from our persona, but the seeds are after all indian, that doesn't go away, it comes back strongly." Funnily none of the BIG 3, grew up being Bollywood fans, far from it, Comedy Central was close to the directors heart. That coupled with his desire to "say serious things lightly" and "not take yourself too seriously" resulted in a movie, which was in effect their own story told in a light hearted manner. When asked did they feel any roadblocks, their response was "we had no standard or yardstick to compare against...a new genre or product was being tried, we could not compare ourselves with Bollywood, nor with Hollywood, Mira's Missippi Masala came close but not so...this was about South Asians born here, not transplanted to the US." But the confidence was there "that we would make the film was never a doubt in our practical minds (these were not idealistic folks)."

In 1997 AMERICAN DESI hit the theaters (credit goes to Eros for investing in this dream) and IT STAYED IN THE THEATERS....and IT CONTINUED TO STAY IN THE THEATERS....FOR A WHILE

The first of it's kind was also commercially the most successful of that genre till date. Globally it made a couple of million dollars....not that much by box office standards, but quite a lot compared to how much it was made for and how uncharted this product was and it has made instant heroes of the BIG 3, but also launched with it a whole set of films, careers, thoughts and beliefs.

PIYUSH PANDYA (the director) : became a clebrity overnight. It couldn't have happened to a more intelligent person. Piyush is a perfectionist. He has not made any film since then, cause when you meet him you realize he does not do things because it is "to be done" more because "I feel the need to do it." Piyush also pioneered the stand up south asian comedy through his Gurus of Comedy tour, that included folks such as Russell Peters. If there is one thing Piyush does have...it is an eye for talent. Oh and just by the way he can also be seen in the offices of Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch...don't panic he is not a financial advisor, but he is a topnotch IT guru, probably one of the best in Manhattan.

GITESH PANDYA (the producer and marketing guru): allegedly the brains behind the marketing, probably not allegedly, his BOXOFFICEGURU comes out with some solid stats, he is often seen in mainstream television talking about box office results of mainstream movies and the studios of LA depend a lot on him for South Asian Outreach.

DEEP KATDARE (the I banker and the hero of the film): In fact when I meet Deep I joke (probably not a joke anymore) that South Asian cinema would have come of age if we can have Hrithik and Deep play long lost brothers in a Bollywood film. Deep, one of the nicest people on this planet and a thorough gentleman, is now back to doing STRUCTURED FINANCE (brains has never been an issue with him) with an I bank in NYC. Along the way he dabbles in acting and can often be seen on Law & Order. Oh and for all his "Americanness," don't say anything bad about him in Marathi, his command over that language will put most Pune and Nagpur folks (of course I am not including Mumbai since the quality of Marathi is better in the heartland of Maharashtra) to shame. Evident when he visits his grandmom in Jogeshwari.

KALPEN MODI: Although we could hardly understand Kal Penn's afro in AD, he is now heard loud and clear. I did say Piyush had an eye for talent!! Don't need to say anymore about Kal.

THE OTHERS: Aasif Manji, Ronobir Lahiri, Purva Bedi all make a carrier in acting

THE BELIEF: AD probably made a lot of these actors and other South Asian Americans believe that "yes we can make a livelihood in this," "yes we will fight till Hollywood gives us an opportunity," "yes we will give up more lucrative lives to hang around India Sweet and Spices in Venice, living in our studio digs until we break in, casue AD has convinced us that we can and will break in some day," and

as the late Parveen Babi once said in the movie SHAAN- Unko hamare salaam, kabhie rukte nahin.... jeeta hain shaan se....marte hain shaan se....(to you my salute, you are living your dream and even if you don't make it you will have the sportsman's conviction and our belief, that you have it all you had and then walked away with no regrets). Being a tennis player I know you can win PLAYING YOUR GAME or you can loose PLAYING AND GIVING IT ALL YOU HAVE and while there is a tinge of sorrow in the latter, it is overcome by the belief that "at that moment, in that time, I did not just talk about it, I gave it my 101%"

AND THE STORY CONTINUES: AD was an aberration, what followed were a string of copies and poor second cousins, that failed miserably, both at the box office and also with the audience. There were exceptions, Nisha Ganatra's Cosmopoliton and Chutney Popcorn won critical acclaim. FLAVORS came close,a lthough that was made by FOB's not the ABCD's (and I say both in a non derogatory manner). People and audiences realized that you cannot spin the same wheel a different way. Also the acting in the films, and the direction, was bad to really bad. Filmmakers would cast themselves without the least bit being qualified to act or direct. It became more "family home videos." The barrier to entry started to fall. Every South Asian American felt qaulified to make a film "because it is my story and I need the world to see it and also see me."

After a string of terrible films, sanity prevailed and people started to assess whether there was a market for these films. The difference between AD and these "others" was that AD crossed over to the "non south Asians too," while the others "did not even leave the house of the maker." People were like "I am sick of that immigrant experience tale and the story of Raj the software engineer," surely there was more the the South Asian experience in the US. Plus the problem with a lot of these films, unlike AD, was that it took itself a little too seriously....lighten up pal!!

THE EXPLANATION CONTINUES TILL THIS DATE: It (AD) ran because it was a first of it's kind, people saw it out of self pity and a sense of "let's watch it for our kids, " etc , etc.

Well let me tell you something. I rented it in the DVD store and watched in 10 years after I first saw it....and I was still laughing and I was crying (out of boredom) when I saw all the "clones that followed."

Also let me tell you something more-- Living in Silicon Valley, attending TiECOn, being one of the few Desis to volunteer for UCLA Esxtension Arts Day in LA, DESIS DO NOT SUPPORT A FILM FOR SELF PITY...YOU PROBABLY DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT, BUT HEAR IT LOUD AND HEAR IT CLEAR...the only reason they watch is for enterainment. AD made $ 1 million IN the US and $1 million OUTSIDE the US, aka FOB's and ABCD's liked it equally, "from Mumbai " folks like me and "going to Mumbai for the first time " SOuth Asians, unlike me, watched it.

It was the most pirated film in the South Asian genre, that is bad, the good news is, even pirates have taste, they don't pirate stuff for which there is NO ORIGINAL DEMAND, AD had a lot of ORIGINAL DEMAND.

THE FUTURE: Like the Candian Indian and the British Indian, as Piyush says "we will evolve." Making crap is not a bad thing, it is an evolutionary process, as long as one can learn from it and make quality products and the way the world order is changing, they may have Hollywood studios and independents support that movement someday.

I STILL REMEMBER: it was 1995 and I had just arrived a year ago in North America and was living in Queens Quay in Toronto when my former colleague from Ernst & Young, Dubai, Michael D' SOuza (now a senior excutive with Kraft in Chicago) called me telephonically. Mike was doing his MBA at NYU - Stern. "my roommate is looking to make a movie, he is an American Desi named Deep katdare who works during the day with Investment Banking, they are looking to film in Toronto, can they use your apartment....."

Before he could finish, I was laughing

"Mike the odds of an investment banker giving up his job and making a movie is about as much as my mother getting her lifelong dream of sitting in a F-16...."

I'm glad that I was wrong and Deep continued to make AD....

I'm glad, for the sake of world peace, that my mother never piloted a F-16

In one instance the odds went for me and in the other against me.....I was happy both times

Looking before you leap, makes you a procastinator

Leaping before you look, makes you a life well lived

Sincerely,

Vivek "remember only I'm between possible and Impossible" Kumar