i was hoping you'd link to that. NP is awsim! deliciously heteronormative and phallocentric!

What. in. the. world. "Really disturbing yet oddly compelling" is exactly what I would call it. Wow.

Guys, it is an amazing video. I enjoyed it. I do not think there is anything disturbing.

It makes fun lot of older Doordarshan religious TV serials, and even older 1930-40s, religious Bollywood movies, or even later (1970s) ones like Jai Santoshi Ma. It is inspired by all of them.

I guess if one does not know the context, then one would make coffee house intellectual like comments, and analysis. Hell with fundies, and also coffee house crowd.

I am curious about the director of the video.

Someone who made must have seen a lot (or had detailed knowledge) of campy religious fares from Doordarshan/ Indian film industry (all of them had it - Bombay, Tamil, Kannada - all of them)

I guess if one does not know the context, then one would make coffee house intellectual like comments, and analysis. Hell with fundies, and also coffee house crowd.

Don't worry I don't plan on making any intellectual comments. Just comments about Portman.

Not the first time that Natalie has donned Indian themed garb recently.

My favorite part was the pacman-esque eating of the heads

NP is awsim! deliciously heteronormative and phallocentric!

Aw shucks, razib. You did mean Nina Paley, didn't you?

Aw shucks, razib. You did mean Nina Paley, didn't you?

LOL. touche!

i loved the video! thanks for sharing, abhi!

(and nina is awesome too! i love introducing people to her site!)

This video is ridiculous. And it makes me wonder again why Natalie Portman has such poor taste in boyfriends.

DDiA, at least it keeps hope alive, right?

disturbing...uh yeah...i don't even think a video like this should be considered in the same category as nina paley's, b/c she was trying to engage in serious social commentary...the subtitles in this video are pretty derogatory, and you can tell the creators (who are attempting to mock indian cinematic and cultural images) don't have enough cultural knowledge to do that effectively...it's just a hippie fest, where the hippies are rich and bored, and starving for attention, and ignorant pretending to be enlightened, and kind of jealous that they can't be in a bollywood film too...(okay, maybe not the last one...maybe)...expected better from portman...what's she doing with that yale education...and, is this MESS the best option she's got?...

i couldn't even finish watching the video, it made me ill. and as an inside, outside, all around desi, i thought i could be open to things. guess not.

no.

I think the A.V. Club summed it up best: Natalie Portman Stars In The Love Guru 2: Devendra Banhart
http://www.avclub.com/content/hater/natalie_portman_stars_in_the_love

Catchy song. fun campy video. I like it.

Portman is a hardcore vegan. I think that explains everything. If you ever meet her all you have to do is talk about shoes that are completly leather free and how lettuce is awesome and she will most likely give you at least a handjob.

#14--one thing I can guarantee you is that Natalie Portman is no Yalie.

i agree with kush, and i loved the old films and TV programs, oh ms portman you have become crazy, and i LOVE it!!

yeah, portman didn't go to no safety school :P

some folks seem to be taking this way too seriously. take it for what it is - a music video from an eccentric and apparently very creative artist. it's not meant to be social commentary.

it reminds me, in a way, of the beastie boys' sabotage video - an original and strange costumed narrative filmed to a catchy as hell song with little bearing on the lyrics. as that was, this is briliantly original video. just compare it to 95% of the cliche crap on whatever channel plays music videos these days. last time i checked (admittedly, years ago), they sucked and all melded together. also, we're talking about this....and i don't think i'm alone in downloading the song at this moment....

also, holy shit - natalie portman just shot up on my celebrity hot list. and she likes dudes with long hair and beards, eh? good taste, i says.

14. pb

i agree completely with you. also, natalie went to harvard and not to yale. another thing about all of this is is that she's partly from israel and the young people there have a tradition of going to india, getting stoned, taking over whole beaches in goa and being unfriendly to the locals, except when they want to sleep with one of them.

not only sabotage...but because it just popped up on my playlist and i was reminded, Muse - Knights of Cydonia has a music video that's similarly campy, purposefully silly, and poking fun at a movie genre RIPE for the poking, with title screens and random FX and all!

24 · malaika said

14. pb

i agree completely with you. also, natalie went to harvard and not to yale. another thing about all of this is is that she's partly from israel and the young people there have a tradition of going to india, getting stoned, taking over whole beaches in goa and being unfriendly to the locals, except when they want to sleep with one of them.

1) half the friendliness in this world is because someone wants to sleep with someone.
2) are the goan locals, uh, averse to sleeping with hot israeli chicks?
3) well maybe if the palestinians went to goa and got stoned and lounged on beaches, there'd be peace. nothing like bonding over a hash pipe.

Her boyfriend is the appositely named Devendra Banhart who has included desi music in his own before. He's Venezuelan-American and was raised in Caracas, hence the Spanish and the encounter with Bollywood through very bad Spanish subtitling.

cookiebrown - you know that Keira Knightley was Natalie Portman's "double" (the handmaiden who'd dress like her) in the first Star Wars prequel, right? A lot of people have totally forgotten about that, but that's where I was introduced to both of them.

This is a strange video. I can understand both sides of the debate but it feels so sloppy and not as tasteful as NP's usual fare. I like to think she's classier than this.

Oops. I guess someone deleted CB's post. :P

Oops. I guess someone deleted CB's post. :P

The link did not work

That video is effin rad. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, people. Beyond that, I usually like anything that's absurd, irreverent, subversive, blasphemous, iconoclastic, etc.

Last week we talked about "satire." This week can we talk about "parody?"

That video is a little bit grainy, so I couldn't really tell, but is Natalie Portman in brownface in that video? And am I right in assuming that her boyfriend isn't actually desi at all?

I don't know about this. A part of me understands that it may be intended as a tongue in cheek tribute, but I'm a little bit annoyed. To me it smacks of the old western exotification of desis and a little bit of a cliche. Meh. Whatevs.

ShallowThinker: So, are you contemptuous of vegans, or women in general? It wasn't clear from your comment.

One would need an MFA to parse this vid. Banhart's audience consists mostly of MFAs who live in Brooklyn and the Mission District SF. Most live a subsistence existence, burritos and ramen noodle and such, punctuated by shopping trips to Whole Foods when mummy/daddy are in town. In another ten years, Portman will become concerned about her age given the pitifully short shelf life of hollywood actresses. She will will flee into the arms of a hedge fund manager, possibly a pudgy wharton marwari hedge fund manager, as she transitions from nubile babe (early 20s) to crone (>34 +)

33 · Lizzie (greeneyed fem) said

ShallowThinker: So, are you contemptuous of vegans, or women in general? It wasn't clear from your comment.

I didn't read ShallowThinker that way. I think all he is saying is that when people are casual with your most cherished symbols they should at the very least give you a consolation prize

I was thinking more along the lines of she is the closest thing to a hippie in these days and the whole free love sterotype that goes with the hippie sterotype.

There is no need for feminism on these boreds. Must be on her period or something. Just kidding.

The vid certainly wasn't brilliant, but parts of it were funny pastiches of the Ramanand Sagar Ramayan (watch it for the first 6 minutes or so) and the Chopra Mahabharat. This is hardly exotification, it is clearly tongue-in-cheek.

But probably funniest are the ruffled feathers of Abhi and umbrage taken by commenters of the ilk of louiecypher (who, in his froth, even forgot to mention Pomona in his comment #34), when everybody was so willing to casually bandy disparagement of Indians from India on the Africa thread. Presumably, what's good for the goose isn't good for the gander.

how sad for natalie to be dumped by the gorgeous gael garcia bernal and to have to stoop to seeing this sorry creature

37 · Desi from desh said

The vid certainly wasn't brilliant, but parts of it were funny pastiches of the Ramanand Sagar Ramayan (watch it for the first 6 minutes or so) and the Chopra Mahabharat. This is hardly exotification, it is clearly tongue-in-cheek.

But probably funniest are the ruffled feathers of Abhi and umbrage taken by commenters of the ilk of louiecypher (who, in his froth, even forgot to mention Pomona in his comment #34), when everybody was so willing to casually bandy disparagement of Indians from India on the Africa thread. Presumably, what's good for the goose isn't good for the gander.

Thanks for poining out my omission. Pomona is the West Coast's Bennington....heh heh

39 · louiecypher said

Pomona is the West Coast's Bennington

pomona is harder to get into than bennington. respeck!
louicypher, you better consult those ranking books carefully before when you brat enters sixth grade. gotta have a gameplan, innit?

possibly a pudgy wharton marwari hedge fund manager

Awesome. Natalie's little static shimmy set my hypothalamus afire. I'm hoping that the cephalopod didn't go into some obscure cooking pot.

35 · louiecypher said

I think all he is saying is that when people are casual with your most cherished symbols they should at the very least give you a consolation prize

So if someone,uh, screws your wife, then he should blow you? give you money? lease a porsche in your name?
Your dignity or cultural pride can be bought for a handjob from a hot woman? Have you learned nothing from HMF?

I see that his prolific pontifications on self-respect are wasted on the men on these boards.

So if someone,uh, screws your wife, then he should blow you?

me: No, I'll pass

give you money?

me: That's a start

lease a porsche in your name?

Your dignity or cultural pride can be bought for a handjob from a hot woman?

In case anyone is wondering, I am kidding. I find nothing offensive about the vid. I think he reached beyond Bollywood and may have a stash of Amar Chitra Katha as well

I do dislike MFAs....fo' real

I do dislike MFAs....fo' real

dude seek help, it's only a degree.

If you can overlook the singer's hairy arm pits and extremely low cut pants (or dhotis??), the humorous video is a funny interpretation of Bollywood. The song has a very catchy tune.

40 · babymamma
uh, rob isn't pudgy. he's not even marwari.
______________________________________________

True dat! ;-)
I'm loving me the recession--I can finally get a reservation at Peter Luger on short notice, or swagger into Po without one!!

Was it just me or did KaliMa totally act as a cockblocker.

40 · babymamma said

uh, rob isn't pudgy. he's not even marwari.

he probably meant manju. except the marwari part doesn't match.

Hey bootstrap bill...coconuts are hard. so it ain't me.

48 · bootstrap bill said

40 · babymamma said

uh, rob isn't pudgy. he's not even marwari.

he probably meant manju. except the marwari part doesn't match.

Manju is saving himself for Ann Coulter. He better treat her right lest he end up in Cuba wearing an orange jumpsuit

Off topic, Israel's fascination with India is interesting because the way they treat the locals while in India is nothing short of deeply offensive. One guy at an Indian store screamed in the face of a sari vendor for TWO HOURS (he left and came back repeatedly) to make him cut the price in half. The store owner later said that Israelis are dreaded in the market place. I guess 60+ years of bulldozing Palestinian homes and farms and replacing them with Jew-only villas translate to not-so-good social skills. It's amusing to see how the Indians kissed Israeli asses, though. Must be the whole U.S.-centric adoration of all things American and American funded?

On topic: Most excellent video, yaar. Dude should pull up his pants, though...or shave.

I do find their behavior obnoxious and most Thais would also agree. But the Indians who tolerate it include the Kashmiri Muslim shopkeepers you find all over the tourist circuit. It's not politics, Yankeephilia or the Hindu-Zionist conspiracy certain people are so fond of talking about. It's because your avg Israeli, even fresh out of the service, has more money to spend than your average desi. And from what I hear Israelis constitute the largest segment of leisure travelers in India.

Must be the whole U.S.-centric adoration of all things American and American funded?

On topic: Most excellent video, yaar. Dude should pull up his pants, though...or shave.

But probably funniest are the ruffled feathers of Abhi and umbrage taken by commenters

My feathers are ruffled? Really? Oh you mean because Natalie picked this guy over...me? Yes, you are right.

Dude should pull up his pants, though...or shave.

I thought the same thing, but then maybe a little pubic peekaboo is what he intended. Goes with the hippie vibe. Speaking of hippie vibes, Israeli tourists in Goa have a world unto themselves and it's very much in that vein. there are signs in Hebrew at some of the beaches down there. I was stuck at a bus stop at Baga Beach with a Israeli guy who looks exactly like Devendra in the video who was even dressed like a sadhu while the whole time he was shooting up and passing out.

51 · Nesha said

Off topic, Israel's fascination with India is interesting because the way they treat the locals while in India is nothing short of deeply offensive. One guy at an Indian store screamed in the face of a sari vendor for TWO HOURS (he left and came back repeatedly) to make him cut the price in half.

It's not just in India or Thailand that they're like that; they're douchebags (and I mean that in the nicest way) in Israel too. It's not uncommon to see an Israeli screaming at a vendor for half an hour in Shuk Ha-Carmel, the largest open air market in Tel Aviv, to lower the price by a shekel. Along with Russians, they possess the "rude" characteristics (never smiling, talking loudly in your face to the point of screaming, etc.) that put them in stark contrast to the cultures of India and the Middle East where politeness and hospitality are valued, even if you're grossly ripping off the firangi

Along with Russians, they possess the "rude" characteristics (never smiling, talking loudly in your face to the point of screaming, etc.) that put them in stark contrast to the cultures of India and the Middle East where politeness and hospitality are valued

What a load of crap. Like Gujus don't try to "lower the price by a shekel" (I'm Guju)? Your whole statement is overgeneralized jingoistic garbage.

I've traveled enough to know that many locals don't like Israeli tourists but not because of the reasons you mention. The reason is that the vast majority of these tourists are young "kids" that have just come off military duty (in a tense part of the world) and are looking to blow off steam afterward. Young people coming off military duty make obnoxious tourists no matter where they are from (especially when it is mandatory military service). So please, stop with the blatant Israelis=Jews=cheap stereotyping

yeah, johnny valker brown is right. that's just the israeli way..loud and in your face and they just might ask you how much money you make. not unlike an uncleji asking you what your father does, or the time i took my relatives saks 5th avenue and they sat on the floor...no disrespect intended toward the natives.

and if they act any different there will certainly be some HMFstein around who'll pop up and accuse them of being a white-washed uncle sol. so, might as well keep it real.

51 · Nesha said

Off topic, Israel's fascination with India is interesting because the way they treat the locals while in India is nothing short of deeply offensive. One guy at an Indian store screamed in the face of a sari vendor for TWO HOURS (he left and came back repeatedly) to make him cut the price in half. The store owner later said that Israelis are dreaded in the market place. I guess 60+ years of bulldozing Palestinian homes and farms and replacing them with Jew-only villas translate to not-so-good social skills. It's amusing to see how the Indians kissed Israeli asses, though. Must be the whole U.S.-centric adoration of all things American and American funded?

You really really really need to brush up on not only your history but also on your current affairs. That is the single most uninformed and inspid post I've seen on this website, other than some guy named Kannan last year on Indian guys dating American girls.

56 · Wild Elephant said

What a load of crap. Like Gujus don't try to "lower the price by a shekel" (I'm Guju)? Your whole statement is overgeneralized jingoistic garbage.

wrong. i never said other people don't bargain even over trivial matters (i'm Gujarati as well), but i've lived long enough in Israel to note key cultural differences. if you don't believe me, go to any bus/train station in Israel and wait in line patiently to buy a ticket and you'll soon have people shoving you aside without even saying "Slicha" (excuse me).

59 · Johnny Valker said

. if you don't believe me, go to any bus/train station in Israel and wait in line patiently to buy a ticket and you'll soon have people shoving you aside without even saying "Slicha" (excuse me).

Have you ever tried buying a "General" ticket at any major railway station in India?

Have you ever tried buying a "General" ticket at any major railway station in India?

Or stood in any line anywhere in India for that matter?!? His answer has got to be "no."

60 · RahulD said

59 ·

Have you ever tried buying a "General" ticket at any major railway station in India?

after posting, i realized that line jumping wasn't limited to Israel lol. my point was that shouting at strangers and walking around without smiling are common throughout Israel. they think we're crazy/stupid for overusing "please" "thank you" and "Excuse me" and smiling at every stranger we see. my first week there i was wondering why people were yelling at me when i was just asking for directions lol. i'm not denying that racism among the ganja inundated Israelis in India exists, but i was trying to put that poster's "Israeli yelling at sari vendor" in perspective.

Rahul,

My knowledge of current affairs is perfectly fine. It is amusing to see how these soldiers go from the occupied territories into India, continue their much notched down abusive behavior, and to observe middle-class Indians treat them like the second coming of Vishnu. I have been to the West Bank, so the level of disgust I saw towards Indians from these Israelis was very familiar.

FYI, my Japanese friends and I (all tiny women) stepped in to defend the poor shop keeper, who was poor enough to have to acquiesce to the torrent of abuse unleashed on him, while affluent Indians responded deferentially to the abusers.

When your people are being disrespected, speak up or STFU. Indian behavior around white shahibs is well known; for me and my Japanese friends, it was just sad to watch.

Your reaction is vapid and typical of what I expected.

Anyway, I like this site, so I will not feed a troll like you.

63 · Nesha said

I have been to the West Bank, so the level of disgust I saw towards Indians from these Israelis was very familiar.

what kinda Israelis didja run into? most in Israel proper were actually fond of Indian movies and Tel Aviv clubs regularly spin Indian music. although the settlers in the West Bank think anyone a shade lighter than them, including Mizrahi Jews, must be Palestinian terrorists and thus a valid target. Since you've been there, you know what I mean lol.

freddy mercury would never do this to us

freddy mercury would never do this to us

Freddy was openly gay but a closeted desi. Desis are the people that dare not speak their name

63 · Nesha said

Your reaction is vapid and typical of what I expected.

Anyway, I like this site, so I will not feed a troll like you.

Well the big problem with Indian culture these days is exemplified in both your anecdote about the "affluent Indians" and your statement about me. Who will show us respect when we spend half our time insulting each other.

I will give you that you have been to Israel and I have not. But I have spent my last 4 years researching the middle east for various purposes and have met enough people from there to have a lasting respect for anyone who is Israeli and in their military.

India was the only secular nation that voted against the formation of Israel, this is a stain on the Indian government's legacy we will never live down. I have seen the Israeli tourist spots in India, and if you have read any of the stories in Outlook, Frontline or India Today over the years - they talk about the tourist spots being that way because the "brokers" actually find the Israelis better behaved and less trouble than large Indian parties (of course Capitalism kicks in too).

You made the assumption that I was a troll, I guess that is deserved as I did make an assumption on your knowledge of current and past affairs. But I can still lay a bet that you don't know what the King-Crane commision was, nor do you have a objective idea of what created the West Bank.

These are all issues that are too broad and too debated, this thread was about a music video and you turned this into a place for a cheap diatribe which is flimsy at best in any intelligent debate where you can connect Israeli tourist behavior to American Geo-Politics and West Bank's economic situation.

I don't think I need someone to tell me how people in the military behave, I can view it anytime I want.

And um...Japanese...uh huh yes they are totally the most tolerant people on Earth who show the utmost respect for other cultures, especially Indian.

Vishnu has had 9 comings by the way.

Freddy was openly gay but a closeted desi. Desis are the people that dare not speak their name

But he was spotted on the I95 recently

Devendra is the ultimate hipster douche. So please don't be offended.

). So please, stop with the blatant Israelis=Jews=cheap stereotyping

America's most famous muslim said the jews are number 1 in america expect for one guy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaFCXX7J97E

just to let you know, in goa, some israelis have taken over whole beaches and if anyone indian, nri or local, rich or poor, comes near those beaches they are greeted by snarls and shooed away. i'm not bashing people from israel. i have lived in a jewish neighbourhood in london for most of my life and all the israelis here have been very nice to me and i'm very comfortable with them. unfortunately a (large) percentage of the ones in india are not so great and it's probably a drug related thing.

68 · RahulD said

Vishnu has had 9 comings by the way.

I remain unimpressed. He is way lower than Zeus on that count. Prema/Vyasa/Kaka, I think you have a splendid opportunity to comment on sub-par physical stamina and rampant sexual repression among Indians and their deities.

67 · RahulD said

I have seen the Israeli tourist spots in India, and if you have read any of the stories in Outlook, Frontline or India Today over the years - they talk about the tourist spots being that way because the "brokers" actually find the Israelis better behaved and less trouble than large Indian parties

Even though this statement is one of the I-know-people-who type statistic: (very dear) Israeli friends of mine who spent time in India after their military service or know other people who did, regretfully confess that their peeps are among the worst sort of foreign tourists in India -- contemptuous of locals, rowdy, and especially rude to store owners from whom they want to procure goods at an unreasonable discount.

Here is another Desi influenced Spanish video. I'm digging the music, but I didn't really know what to think of the random Indian dancing girl.

I was standing in line in an airport in Bombay and one old lady of 90 (I knew who she was) almost knocked a couple of us over sideways to get herself through. I've never experienced a more assertive elbow job. She did have her hair dyed black, but she was 90.

"And um...Japanese...uh huh yes they are totally the most tolerant people on Earth who show the utmost respect for other cultures, especially Indian.

Being themselves among the most mono-culture/race on earth in their own country, and who apprently prefer to stay that way. So when they go visiting, everybody's an interesting adventure.

i don't know if this is relevent but here is an rnb singer collaborating with a desi musician with neha oberoi (bollywood actress) in the video. maybe abhi can do a post about it if he wants.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNqveDHhiIo

it reminds me, in a way, of the beastie boys' sabotage video - an original and strange costumed narrative filmed to a catchy as hell song with little bearing on the lyrics.

I think this is the best video for Sabotage...

i wonder when and where he saw that old ramayan miniseries. it seems like he's clearly influenced by it.

so now we're generalizing about the jews and the japanese. off-topic and not necessary or factual.