On Saturday, June 5th, the Tribeca Performing Arts Center presents the Parijat Desai Dance Company, as they present two new works in development: Songs To Live For and Make Space. Songs To Live For, a dance theater work based on Hindustani vocal music, explores the profound longing evoked by this thumri and khayal in particular. Responding to the quality of the music—its spacious vocals and rhythmic punctuations—Desai draws on released

Posted: May 19th, 2010

Ishita Srivastava’s Desigirls! has been picking up more press and was featured last week on After Ellen. The documentary on queer desi girls (and featuring Sholay’s own Ashu Rai) will also be shown in Delhi at the end of this month. Kudos to Ishita for making a much-needed and fab film!

Posted: May 15th, 2010

The Film Society of Lincoln Center (FSLC), in collaboration with IAAC and the Indian Consulate, presents Social Dramas and Shimmering Spectacles: Muslim Cultures of Bombay Cinema from May 19-27, 2010. The series, curated by Richard Allen and Ira Bhaskar, displays the extraordinary richness of Bombay cinema by highlighting classic films that showcase Muslim themes, performance idioms, and lyric traditions. Check out classics like Pakeezah and Mughal-e-Azam as well as modern

Posted: May 14th, 2010

The queer south-asian dance party desilicious celebrates nine years of bolly good fun. Generally when one thinks of Indian women, the first thing that comes to mind is a midriff-bearing Bollywood heroine. That’s all thanks to our awesomely representative global entertainment market.Maybe you think of a shampoo ad or Apu’s wife from The Simpsons. Each representation places the Indian woman in some skewed, heteronormative context. But what about all the Indian

Posted: May 13th, 2010

Check out a special screening of DESIGIRLS!, presented by NYU Cinema Studies ithis Friday, May 7th at 7pm. Directed by Ishita Srivastava, who recently completed her Masters degree in Cinema Studies from New York Unioversity’s Tisch School of the Arts, the short documentary highlights NYC’s South Asian lesbian community. It focuses on three characters: ‘A’ who might never be able to open up to her family about her lesbian identity;

Posted: May 4th, 2010

Our favorite (and the most beautiful) actress in Bollywood today, Sushmita Sen, makes us love her even more, which we didn’t think was possible. The lovely former Ms. Universe was spotted out on the town with her second adopted baby, Alisah Sen, who is just too cute for words. And, when asked about Ricky Martin’s recent revelation, her response: “All the time I have known him, I’ve been so proud

Posted: May 1st, 2010

Spring is in the air and there’s lots of great music out right now. Below is our non-desi May mix, with some of our favorite tracks from the past few months, including a few releases from Jan-Feb. Check back soon for our favorite Desilicious mix of desi tracks! Tracklist: “Round And Round” – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti “Norway” – Beach House “Odessa” – Caribou “One Life Stand” – Hot Chip

Posted: April 30th, 2010

Sholay Productions invites you to bask in the beats of Bollywood and dance tracks at Pachita, the exclusive top floor of the international club Pacha featuring a top notch sound system, Moroccan vaulted ceilings spacious dance floor, and a plush lounge. Desilicious Bollywood Wonderland Saturday, May 22nd Doors Open 10pm Pachita 618 W. 46th Street (@ 11th Avenue) Entrance is west of Pacha’s main entrance Music by Ashu Rai and

Posted: April 25th, 2010