VOGUE INDIA - Forty-nine-year-old Kamala Harris, the attorney general of California, is the first woman to be elected as her state's top law enforcement officer. In a recent face-off, Harris, who battles financial institutions guilty of mortgage fraud, recovered and estimated 20 billion dollars for jilted home-owners. "I would cast Kamala in a movie about Kamala," says Hollywood producer-director JJ Abrams, floored by Harris' glamorous looks...continue to the full article here.
Imran Khan: Bollywood's Immature About Sex →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - Actor Imran Khan says he’s fed up with headlines that scrutinize Bollywood’s relationship with sex. “On-screen kisses are still talking points [in the media] and it’s baffling,” said Mr. Khan, who was recently in New York City on a global tour that included stops in London and Dubai to promote his upcoming film, “Gori Tere Pyaar Mein”, which releases in India Friday...continue to the full article here.
America's Best Family Hotels →
TRAVEL + LEISURE - Name an activity that kids might dream up for their perfect vacation and Florida’s Ponte Vedra Inn & Club probably has it. They can join lawn games and craft classes, improve a tennis or golf swing, take a horse ride along the private beach, and learn a captain’s secrets for catching flounder. It’s a winning recipe that has earned Ponte Vedra the title of America’s best family hotel, according to T+L readers...continue to the full article here.
Best Subway Stores →
TIME OUT NEW YORK - The vast majority of New Yorkers ride the subway every day, but your commute doesn’t have to be strictly business. These underground stores inside subway stations allow you to shop for beauty products, stationery, accessories and clothing without deviating from your normal trajectory. Look for NYC-themed threads at Grast in Port Authority, grooming products at eShave...continue to the full article here.
South Asia's Growing Impact on U.S. Films, TV →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - When she was growing up in Kentucky, Samata Narra regularly snuck into her family’s laundry room to catch episodes of the soap opera “General Hospital” on a tiny television set. “My parents only allowed me to watch 30 minutes of TV for every two hours of reading,” said Ms. Narra. “Despite their best efforts, I grew up with a love for television...continue to the full article here.
Miss America, Julie Chen and the Beauty of Choice →
CNN - Nina Davuluri, a 24-year-old Indian-American from upstate New York, expertly twirled to the pulsing beats of a Bollywood tune during the talent portion of the Miss America pageant. At the same time, she spun the traditional notion of American beauty on its head. In the interview portion of Sunday's pageant, Davuluri was asked about Chinese-American journalist Julie Chen's decision to have eyelid surgery to advance her career...continue to the full article here.
Documenting the 'Crime of the Century' →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - “Fire in the Blood,” directed by Irish-Punjabi filmmaker Dylan Mohan Gray, describes itself as an intricate tale of medicine, monopoly and malice. The documentary, which opens in the U.S. this weekend and in India next month, argues that Western pharmaceutical companies and governments caused at least 10 million unnecessary deaths since 1996 by aggressively blocking the developing...continue to the full article here.
Style Passport : India →
TIME OUT NEW YORK - The 33rd annual India Day Parade (fianynjct.org, Aug 18 at noon; starts at Madison Ave and 38th St) isn’t the only way to celebrate India’s Independence Day. Find authentic Indian home decor at Roberta Roller Rabbit and Layla’s new location inside ABC Carpet & Home, experience threading at Shobha, and adorn yourself with baubles from Satya Jewelry and Tejani...continue to the full article here.
Golden Age →
VOGUE INDIA - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni ~ I was a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley, a fairly recent immigrant to America, swinging between extremes of elation and trepidation. That was when my grandfather in India passed away. I could not go home for the funeral; there was no money for me to make the expensive journey. My grandfather was the first storyteller in my life...continue to the full article here.
Code Breaker →
VOGUE INDIA - As a bright-eyed software engineering student in Coimbatore almost a decade ago, Aarthi Ramamurthy regularly put herself through rickety bus rides around South Indian villages. Her goal? To teach kids how to code. It’s how she met her husband, Sriram Krishnan, explains the 29-year-old tech wizard. "We were student ambassadors," she says. "Super romantic,"...continue to the full article here.
Rajnath Singh's Congress Party Dare →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - As his visit to the U.S. drew to a close last week, Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh refused to be drawn into revealing a prime ministerial candidate, instead daring the ruling Congress party to do so first. In an address at the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce in New York, Mr. Singh said the BJP had consensus and unity and then listed various potential contenders for the Congress party, including...continue to the full article here.
Making The Flying Sikh's Biopic →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra says he’ll never forget the day he received a signed contract from Milkha Singh, granting him the rights to make a film about the athlete’s life. Mr. Mehra had couriered the contract to Mr. Singh’s home. A blank space was left for Mr. Singh to add a fee for the rights. A week later, the film’s producer came to Mr. Mehra’s office with the contract, and suggested he take a look...continue to the full article here.
Adventures of a Former Indian Army Captain →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - Amin Ahmad, author of “The Caretaker,” says he received no shortage of “beautiful rejections” as he sought American publishers over the last few years. Mr. Ahmad, 45 years old, attributes the trepidation to the fact that his debut novel is neither a traditional thriller nor a typical piece of literary fiction. Instead, it exists in a curious in-between space—rather like Mr. Ahmad himself. The architect...continue to the full article here.
Miss India vs. Hindu Fundamentalists →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - When Canadian filmmaker Nisha Pahuja set out to document the glitzy Miss India pageant, she didn’t expect to simultaneously cover the Durga Vahini, the female wing of a Hindu fundamentalist movement. While conducting research for her film nearly four years ago, the India-born, Toronto-bred director encountered one of the movement’s fiery young leaders, Prachi Trivedi....continue to the full article here.
The Making of 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' →
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - In “The Reluctant Fundamentalist,” India-born director Mira Nair exposes all sides of the American Dream, from its star-spangled face to its sinister underbelly. Adapted from Mohsin Hamid’s acclaimed 2007 novel, the film, which hits U.S. theaters Friday, is told largely via flashback in a gritty, Lahore University teahouse. Here, a seemingly radical Pakistani professor, Changez (Riz Ahmed)...continue to the full article here.
In 'Powerless,' India's Electricity Crisis Pits Maverick Against State →
THE NEW YORK TIMES - The first character we meet in Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar’s film, “Powerless,” is not a person at all – it’s a menacing tangle of wires, looming over the gritty northern Indian city of Kanpur. The documentary, which is showing at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival this week, is a jarring glimpse at India’s rampant energy crisis through one town: Kanpur and its more than 3 million residents, at least 400,000...continue to the full article here.
Gujarat is Yours, Modi Tells Indian Americans →
THE NEW YORK TIMES - Gujarat’s controversial chief minister, Narendra Modi, unfurled his definition of secularism, addressing hundreds of Indian-Americans in New Jersey and Chicago through a live telecast from Ahmedabad on Sunday. “India first,” he bellowed in English, during a speech that he was delivering in Hindi. "We must never let India, her honor, or the dreams of the people be adversely affected – our country is above all religions,”...continue to the full article here.
Minority Report →
VOGUE INDIA - Over the weeks that followed the gut-wrenching massacre at a gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin last August—a tragedy that left seven (including the gunman) dead—a brave, young voice filled American airwaves. Even as she spoke for the rights of Sikh-Americans on a dizzying array of media platforms, Valarie Kaur propelled members of her grieving community to organise vigils, draft op-eds...continue to the full article here.
Big City, Big Love →
VOGUE INDIA - With a disarming chuckle, Sreenath Sreenivasan, 42, chief digital officer at Columbia University, declares he's the world's best behaved husband—a requirement when you're married to a competitive rifle shooter. "She can shoot, her dad can shoot and her mom won a state shooting championship when she was pregnant, reveals the tech journalist, sharing a smile with his Arjuna Award...continue to the full article here.
Space Savers - Domestic Lab →
VOGUE INDIA - When New York-based designer Suchi Reddy embarked upon an apartment hunt approximately three years ago, she didn't expect to fall for a former dentist's office. "The listing said, 'needs a therapist'," shares Reddy, recalling her very first encounter with the minuscule 375 sqft studio, tucked in a pre-War bulding on the tony periphery of Manhattan's Greenwich Village...continue to the full article here.