On my soap box--or My Name is Khan for real!!

Ok, after flying to and fro to Louisville Kentucky--and having had to be re-checked by TSA in Cleveland--I need to vent about Shahrukh Khan being detained in Newark airport!!
Unless you live under a rock, you by now know that Shahrukh Khan-named one of the 50 most influential men in the world by Newsweek magazine in January of this year, was detained for 2 hours at the Newark New Jersey airport. SRK was on his way to an Indian Independence Day (August 15th) in Chicago, with a stop first at Donald Trump's Taj Mahal Casino for a fan dinner. His name--Khan--popped up on the TSA computers, since all Muslims named Khan are terrorists. I guess they did not buy his 'I am an actor' line, they obviously did not look at his passport (he had been here less than a month ago for nearly 2 months filming a movie on how Muslim Indians were in the aftermath of 911. After a long wait, they finally let him call the Indian embassy in New York and they straightened it all out.
Umm--people, wake up!! Not all folks named Khan are terrorists!! This thinking has gotten other Bollywood actors detained--Irrfan Khan, Aamir Khan and the former president of Indian manhandled in the airport!!!
Sure, we need to be on the lookout, but 'flying while brown' should not be part of it. We still have these ideas about people different from us, and how they are 'scary'--but it is the 21st Century, we have GLOBAL communications--it should not be that hard for foreign nationals, who are loved and respected all over the globe to travel!!

Well--sorry for the rant--but I needed to get it off my chest!
One way to placate my injured soul, I will be heading to see Kaminey today--all by myself--and will post a review later.

Oh, by the way--Happy Independence Day India

Love from a friend I have yet to meet!

Today I got a parcel in the mail--from India! From a sweet young lady who I have only met via email and the online knitting group Ravelry. We befriended each other over a discussion of crochet and Hindi films! She lives in Chennai, and wondered if I had viewed any Tamil films. Well we got talking--she asked if she could send me anything I have had difficulty finding--well a movie for which I have been dying to see since it's release. Taare Zameena Par--which was Aamir Khan's directorial debut-I had been listening to the music for ages, and hoping it would soon be released her in the US. Well, to make a long and annoying story short-Disney picked up the world wide distribution rights to this movie. I was anxious, knowing how Disney tends to 'homogenize' everything it touches, I was afraid that Disney would make a mess of the distribution. Disney announced it would be released in March of 2009-then they delayed it to September! I read on the Disney website that they were also going to release with the original subtitled film, a DUBBED verison! Sacraledge! As a fan of Hindi Cinema and Bollywood in general, most of us who love the films find no problems dealing with subtitles. I was apalled that Disney had planned to not only delay release but to also dub it. I asked my online friend if she could easily find a copy of TZP, with subtitles (and playable in US)--she said--oh yes! I was in heaven!
Well her parcel arrived today! Not only did she send the movie, and 2 lovely dupatta that I will treasure-as I treasure a necklace sent me by a penpal in India when I was in Junior High school--she also included several treasures I had not expected!!
First off were 2 issues of People magazine--you say People, hah, I can get that here! Bash I say, these are the Indian versions-great filmy gossip and one had a cover interview with Shahrukh Khan!! Then I found a mug with SRK's 'mug' on it!! Well, after just seeing this image and jumping up and down--I did not even remove it from the box while out at the post office. I rushed home, emailed her my great thanks--she asked if I liked the personal touch her fiancee had put together!? I ran, looked at the mug-and lo and behold-SRK is wearing a tshirt that says Bollyenabler! Now I am forever famous, and forever close to the star I love! Hey, now I am beginning to sound like some crazy teenage fan! If you all knew how hard it is to feel this passion for Bollywood here in the USA! You enjoy the news items that say Anupaum Kher has signed to do a Woody Allen film(one I may have to go see, even though I do not find Woody that entertaining!). Thank you once again ms crochetress--your gift will be treasured. Now, to find the perfect thing to send in return-there is no way I can top the kindness sent me from far away