American Desi Films

Partly encouraged by such response and partly by the changing habits of movie audiences ,Chicago-based filmmaker Bhargava is releasing Patang across North America today. “The film releases in New York,New Jersey and Chicago. We then open in Toronto,Vancouver and expand in Chicago on June 22; San Francisco and Fremont on June 29 and and Los Angeles on July 20,” says the director,who is releasing the films in 15 screens in eight cities. In the following months,he plans to double the number of screens for this Hindi movie set in the backdrop of Uttarayan,the annual kite flying festival in Ahmedabad.

Even though Bhargava is busy with Patang ‘s theatrical foray in the US,he finds time to promote a fellow America-based director of Indian origin Vikram Gandhi’s documentary Kumare. Gandhi,a New Jersey-raised New York Universality graduate,sets out to expose new age gurus by turning a false guru himself for this documentary that releases in New York on June 20. In fact,Gandhi too have been returning the favour by talking about Patang in the midst of generating audience for Kumare through social media network and various other market partnerships. According to Bhargava,both the movies should work as “American audience are like being drawn into a rich contemporary portrayal of India” which is a vibrant alternative to mainstream Bollywood films.

“We have both admired each other’s resilience throughout the last year. I don’t know often two American Indian filmmakers release their work back to back in the West,but it will keep happening as the next generation of Indian filmmakers thrive,” says Gandhi. He won the audience award at the South by Southwest Film Festival and hae been enjoying international media’s attention.

Interestingly,both the directors have turned to India despite living in America. Bhargava wanted to make a film that captures the pride of a community. “The seeds for the movie Patang were based on the memories of my uncles duelling kites,” recalls the filmmaker. He started working on the family drama after visiting Ahmedabad in 2005 during Uttarayan also the day for the famous kite festival of Gujarat . Yet,he was very conscious of the fact that after growing up in Chicago and living in Brooklyn for 16 years,he had to let got of “the outsider NRI point of view”. His efforts paid off with Patang getting a world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. It later featured in the competition section at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Gandhi too admits to two main cultural influences in his life as an Indian American. “However,when it comes to my personal stories,everything starts in India,” he says. In Kumare,he conceals his true identity in order to make spiritual connections with people from all walks of life. He adds an ‘e’ to his middle name Kumar and transforms himself into a Indian guru called Kumare. At the height of his popularity,he unveils his true identity to a core group of disciples who are experiencing personal transformation.

Both Gandhi and Bhargava are planning to release their movies in India. “It has taken some time for India to notice Kumare,but I am excited to get it out there,” says Gandhi.