May 10, 2005
DiCaprio and the 300 dwarfsFilm
I know you are wondering, so let me be clear from the start. This is not an attempt by Disney to win a seat at India’s table. An upcoming movie by director Ron Howard will involve Leonardo DiCaprio and 300 South Asian little people. Yahoo Movies India reports [tip from Kishan Thomas]:
Leonardo DiCaprio, the Titanic hero is to play the lead role of the Hollywood remake of a Malayalam film Albhudhadweep. Prithiviraj played the role in the original version.
The story is about four navy officers Hari (Prithiviraj), Joseph (Jagathy), Jagadish and Indrans being marooned on a remote island after their helicopter crashes in the sea. They reach this island where all men are dwarfs but the women are normal and beautiful. According to the folklore, some local deity has cursed the men who became dwarfs!
About 300 dwarfs have acted in this film. The fantasy fairy tale directed by Vinayan was a slow starter but gained momentum later.
This is some straight-up bulls*it. Don’t you guys see the hidden message here? This is just a plan by “Whitey” (a.k.a. the Man) to rub in the fact that South Asian men are somewhat shorter. They think they can just come to our “island” and take our beautiful women from us. I am totally going to protest this. In the meantime I am trying to decide who makes a better leading man.
abhi on May 10, 2005 02:06 AM in Film · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
i think midgets are cool!
I want to say something about the dehumanization of people with dwarfism... but I'm kinda tired, so I'll just go along with razib: midgets are cool.
The Mallu guy moustache makes the better leading man!
OMG. i almost spewed a mouthful of coffe at my monitor. LOL.
they both do have the hair thing gonig for them. Can DiCaprio grow his own mustache, though? (Is he capable?) The malu guy's is hawt.
Neither - what ugliness has descended on Sepia?
Somebody call Gurinder Chadha, I think we've got another colonialism fantasy (fetish?) on our hands...
What do you mean that desi people are shorter? I'm one of several people on either side of my family above 6'.
Yes, Theo, in a sample of one (family) you can find skew.
Me, I'm happy being tall... in India that is ;)
The men in my family never thought of ourselves as short. Granted, being 5' 10" tall is not going to qualify me for the NBA (unless I played like Mugsy Bogue), but it's been pretty average at most of the places I've worked or studied. My dad is just shy of 6', and he grew up with a considerably poorer diet back in Calcutta.
I think the real problem lies in the race/ethnicity bit. It has shades of "Brave civilized British soldiers coming and saving the poor oppressed native girls from their palaces, harems blah blah blah". The thought of seeing three Caucasian US Navy guys pushing aside some poor short dark guys and getting their way with the women does seem to open up a can of worms.
Ron Howard is just remaking in Indian movie using American actors... you guys are looking WAY too deep into this.
Abhi usually has tongue planted firmly in cheek...
You mean an Indian movie with American (normal) actors and hundreds of eunuch-like Indian dwarves.
Maybe halfway through the shooting the little people will decide to rise up and turn the set into a redux of Lord Of The Flies.
I find this not a good omen:
Ron Howard is too important to sign it himself?
Disclaimer: I am almost a little person (5'1")
The hero Prithviraj is not a dwarf and this is a good sign for South Indian films, which have always been noted for content. Let us have that truly global Indian spirit even while enjoying our diversity.