Bovie Movie

Before leaving India for college in Houston, Hari (Sunil Malhotra) consults an astrologer, who tells him that he’ll meet the woman of his dreams there, that her name will begin with a “P,” and that she’ll fall from the sky. Hari moves in with friends of the family, the Bakshis, and meets Mo (Kal Penn of American Desi), their slacker son. Mo is a fully assimilated ABCD (American Born Confused Desi), and while he’s proud to be Indian, he’s ashamed of his socially inept FOB (Fresh Off the Boat) “cousin,” who wears clashing outfits, puts coconut oil in his hair, and speaks with a heavy accent. At school, Hari meets Priya (Tina Cherian), a ditzy beauty who literally falls into his lap. Hari is quickly convinced that Priya is the girl the astrologer told him about, and he offers to tutor her in math. Mo is smitten with Janvi (Serena Varghese), a student filmmaker. She’s making a video about what it means to be South Asian in America, and Mo invites her to one of the “Desi Fever” parties he promotes. The evening turns into a disaster when Janvi films Ray (Prem Shah), the radio personality who runs the party, rudely kicking out an FOB, Sham (co-screenwriter Sunil Thakkar), and Ray smashes her tape. While Hari is determined to help Mo win back Janvi, Mo won’t even tell Hari about the next exclusive party he’s promoting, which Priya is sure to attend. Where’s the Party, Yaar? was based partly on Thakkar’s experiences as a DJ and party promoter in Houston. The film was helmed by music video director Benny Mathews and features the music of Panjabi MC and Cornershop. It was shown at the 2003 Rhode Island International Film Festival.

An independent-minded young woman discovers the joys of football, much to her family’s chagrin, in this upbeat British comedy drama. Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) is an 18-year-old growing up in West London, where her family has taken every effort to stay in touch with its Indian heritage. Jess’ father and mother (Anupam Kher and Shaheen Khan) are after their daughter to go to law school, learn to cook a traditional Indian dinner, and settle down with a nice Indian boy — the latter of which is high on the agenda of her older sister Pinky (Archie Panjabi), who is soon to wed her longtime beau Teetu (Kulvinder Ghir). However, her family is unaware that Jess has a secret passion — football (or soccer, as it’s known in North America). While Jess’ enthusiasm for football star David Beckham is obvious, given the fact his photos cover the walls of her room, her parents don’t know that in her spare time she likes to play a friendly game in the park with some of the boys in the neighborhood. One day, while Jess and her pals kick the ball around, she meets Jules (Keira Knightley), who is quite impressed with Jess’ skills. Jules plays with a local semi-pro women’s football team, the Hounslow Harriers, and she thinks Jess has what it takes to make the team. Jess knows that her parents would never approve of their daughter playing football, so she doesn’t tell them, and starts spinning an increasingly complex series of lies as she tries to keep up a double life as a student and a footballer. Jess soon discovers a number of her new friends have their own problems to overcome; Jules dreams of playing pro ball in America, but has to deal with her stubborn and disapproving mother (Juliet Stevenson), while Joe (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), Hounslow’s Irish coach, still struggles with the disappointment of a career as a professional athlete which was dashed by a knee injury. Bend It Like Beckham was a significant box-office success in Great Britain and Europe, but didn’t reach American theaters until nearly a year after it debuted in the U.K.