Harold & Kumar 2 is the sequel to the cult hit Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. The film is planned for release in 2008 with John Cho and Kal Penn returning as the duo of stoners and Paula Garcés as Harold’s love interest Maria.^[1]

Sources confirm the film production began the second to last week of January 2007 in Shreveport, Louisiana, and finished in March.^[2][3][4]

The premise of the movie involves Kumar Patel, the Indian American protagonist of the original film, being mistaken for a ‘bomb carrying terrorist’ while the pair are trying to sneak a bong on board a plane en route to Amsterdam. They are incarcerated in a Guantanamo Bay detainment camp but manage to escape.^[1]

The movie follows their adventures as fugitives from the Department of Homeland Security as they travel through Miami to Texas and ultimately find themselves in the ranch-house of President George W. Bush.^[1][5][6]

New additions to the cast are comedian Jon Reep and former Daily Show correspondent Rob Corddry.^[1] Others include David Krumholtz, Christopher Meloni, Ed Helms, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Jack Conley, Roger Bart, Danneel Harris, Eric Winter, Neil Patrick Harris and Brandon Routh.^[6]

Several celebrities, including Lil’ Kim and Snoop Dogg are rumored to be making appearances in the film as well^{[citation needed]}.

A major reason this film received the green light is because the original film grossed more than $30 million in DVD sales, almost double what it made in theaters.

source: the wikipedia

THE UGLY INDIAN MAN

– Of hygiene, hair and horrible habits

Click link above to read hilarious op-ed by Mukul Kesavan.

And here are equally entertaining readers responses:

Letters to Editor

Uncouth ways

Sir — One cannot but agree with Mukul Kesavan’s unflattering views on the ugliness of the Indian male (“The ugly Indian man”, Aug 9). Indeed, more than their facial features, it is their habits that make Indian males uglier than men of other nationalities. But most of the habits that Kesavan mentions have become so strongly embedded in our culture that they have acquired a degree of social acceptance. Indian males spit in public places, release copious volumes of tobacco smoke into the environment and litter streets with cigarette butts. That is not all. Most of them shout into their prized cell phones, urinate in the open, ogle at women in public transport, use abusive language with each other and tear the leaves of trees while passing by them.

However, Kesavan should not have found fault with Indian men leaving the top buttons of their shirts open, given the tropical climate of this land. This is especially so since their female counterparts often enjoy the comfort of keeping their backs or midriffs bare.

Yours faithfully,
Tapan Pal, Batanagar

Sir — Each point made by Mukul Kesavan in his condemnation of the habits of Indian men rings true. Alas, Kesavan’s article is unlikely to make men in this country change their disgusting practices. This is simply because — and I dare say that this is part of the Indian males’ “ugliness” — most of them do not read newspapers!

I would like to disagree with Kesavan on just one point (please note that my wife is entirely with me on this one). I cannot say that most Indian women are beautiful, even in comparison to their menfolk only. Whether in looks or in manners, Indian women can pose stiff competition to men in this country. When women are not bickering among themselves or indulging in their favourite past time — man-bashing — they are usually busy bitching about one another. A look around any ladies’ compartment on a local train would confirm this fact. As far as appearance is concerned, the nubile nymphet of sixteen invariably turns into a wheezing, obese figure by the time she is 30; and the older she is, the uglier she gets. If we are to call a spade a spade, why restrict the plain-speaking to Indian men only?

Yours faithfully,
Suvro Chatterjee, Durgapur

Sir — Mukul Kesavan misses out on mentioning four filthy customs of the Indian male. These are spitting (whether saliva, phlegm or betel juice), blowing loudly through the nose, urinating in full view of others and emitting loud belches. Women rarely, if ever, indulge in these revolting habits. Having said that, it should be pointed out that men alone do not nurture the vanity of dyeing their hair. One often comes across the amusing sight of aged women, their faces wrinkled with years, sporting hair dyed jet black. Kesavan is right in saying that the unselfconsciousness of men comes from a sense of entitlement that is inbuilt into every male child in Indian society. This is yet another fallout of our overwhelming patriarchal mindset. The fact that ugly Indian men get paired off with good-looking women is a result of the limited choices present before women in a traditional society, where most marriages are arranged.

Yours faithfully,
Amit Banerjee, Calcutta

Sir — Mukul Kesavan’s intense hatred towards Indian men, as is evident in his article, is quite astounding. There would have been a national outrage if The Telegraph had published a similar article on the habits of women. Since male-bashing seems to have become fashionable these days, articles such as Kesavan’s no longer surprise the readers.

Yours faithfully,
Anijeet Bannerjee, Calcutta

Sir — The social importance enjoyed by Indian males has made them arrogant, stubborn and insensitive. It is a pity that our society dotes on male children only, sanctioning every objectionable habit of theirs in the process. During summer, men are allowed to move around in their houses scantily clothed while women are expected to remain dressed properly. Worse, in the marketplace, male vendors sit half naked throughout the year, oblivious to the impact of this visual horror on buyers.

Yours faithfully,
Srikanta Bhattacharjee, Calcutta

Sir — Mukul Kesavan is of the opinion that all Hindi-film heroes are downright ugly. However, his statement would not stand to scrutiny. Filmstars such as Rajesh Khanna or Akshay Khanna can in no way be considered unattractive. Besides, if all our heroes are repulsive, why do their female fans run after them?

Yours faithfully,
Ajit Upadhyay, Calcutta

Sir — However bad-looking the Indian male might be, nothing can prevent him from getting paired off with beautiful women. One reason for this might be the fact that the good looks of most of our gorgeous damsels happen to be only skin- deep.

Yours faithfully,
Surajit Das, Calcutta

Sir — Mukul Kesavan could have added a word or two about the ‘hairdo’ of balding men. Men in this category are unable to accept the fact that they are losing their tresses rapidly. As a result, they go to ridiculous extents to ‘style’ the last few strands of their hair. These men should learn to accept the fact that hair loss is an inevitable part of the ageing process.The least they can do is wear a cap instead of making themselves the butt of all jokes.

Yours faithfully,
Soma Datta, Siliguri

Kode: You have to have faith in yourself, Sanjay. There was an actor who acted in McKenna’s Gold but I don’t remember his name…

Dutt: Sir, Gregory Peck.

Kode: Yes, Peck. He was acting till the age of 100 and you have to do the same. I have only taken away six years from you. You will only get better with time. Your father was acting till the very end in Munnabhai and let me tell you he looked better than you.

WTF??  Anyway, people I’ve talked to or have read comments from on the web, have mixed feelings about Sanjay Dutt’s sentencing. Yes, he did deserve to be punished but 6 years? — seems to be how everyone feels. Like you, I too am a huge fan of the Munnabhai films and hope that Mr. Dutt will keep acting – somehow, sometime later perhaps. And Chris Rock ain’t the real thing.

Here are links to an old (mid 90’s) BBC series called Sanjay Dutt: To Hell and Back Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

He’ll be back.

Fellas, remember Archie comics? Of course you do. Now there’s a desi guy at Riverdale High. Raj Patel. His Dad’s a doctor, his mom’s a research scientist and his sister was skipped a grade. Raj, however, is an aspiring filmmaker and skateboarder.

Here’s an interview I found on the web with the guy who created him:

THE PULSE: How did you come up with the look for this character? What were some of the ways you wanted to make him distinctive from the rest of the cast, but also akin to what people expect from the Archie line of books?

FERNANDO RUIZ: Coming up with the look of Raj Patel was one of the biggest challenges of creating the whole character. I wanted a character that reflected his background without looking like a caricature and still fit in seamlessly with the other characters. I also wanted him to look immediately recognizable and different from the other characters so I gave him a distinct hairstyle and fashion sense. In terms of personality, I wanted to give him an interest that was unique and could be strongly associated with the character. Many of Archie’s friends have a signature interest. Chuck loves art and comics. Jughead loves food. Betty loves…well, Archie! Raj loves film. His main interest is making his own movies and so he’s often going around with a camcorder recording his friends’ crazy antics. I thought it would be a fun hobby readers would be interested in and could be the source of many story ideas and adventures!

Special correspondent Sowmya Nanjundaiah

LIVE FROM NEW YORK CITY… well kinda, here are some pictures from the insane buildup to the midnight book launch. The Ministry of Magic is on high alert! Muggles, wizards, death eaters and the-one-who-will-not-be-named all ponder their fates in the latest and last edition of J.K. Rowling’s hold on the teenage world (and a few non-teenagers like myself) Although the book had already been analyzed and secrets let loose from the Towers of Azkaban, the anticiaption sizzles in the humid NY afternoon as crowds wait patiently for a picture with Hermoine as Ron Weasel ambles around. the Muggles bulletin board is choc-o-bloc with mesages for an older and reluctant wizard-hero as he makes the final attempt to free the world from the evil grip of Voldermot. The Daily Prophet has reporters on standby as the huge clock times down to 12:01pm July 22! Fire-eaters on Daigon Alley try to keep the crowds on their toes as a bemused Sardarji watches from his very enviable vantage point.

“The community loved it as most of the sex workers chew paan,” Sanjeev Gaikwad, a director at advocacy group Family Health International who helped launch the new condom.

So you’ve probably heard of this by now.  The sex workers who get these for free could sell them on ebay for some loot as they won’t be available for sale for a while.  Here are some tid-bits I found  web scouring:

Aastha is a specially designed condom, developed on the basis of feedback from Sex Workers (SWs). A test of chocolate, strawberry, banana and paan was carried out and there was widespread preference for the paan flavour (understandably so as the demand for oral sex on Commercial Sex Workers is rising and 90% of them consume paan).

Logo made from prize winning design through a painting competition among sex workers.

Tailored design based on feedback from sex workers.

Extensive use across extreme field conditions feeding into continuous quality improvement.

More than 13 million condoms distributed till date. 

It is reported that they tested it out on prostitutes because they are the demographic that engages in fellatio.  Men who frequent prostitutes in India frequently request and pay for fellatio, even (or especially) married men who’s wives are unwilling to engage in the same.  Naturally prostitutes (and hopefully clients) want to practice safe sex. Hence, a flavored condom during the act may encourage healthy consciousness.

Now only if Shahrukh or Amitabh would do a pro-bono ad for them, this will be a runaway hit like Paan Banaras Wala

Hot 4 Hill

I like your hair,

the pants that you wear,

and the shape of your derriere…

(re: Giuliani) “I’m gonna be wife No. 4. He warms my globe just like Al Gore.”

CLICK ON PICTURE BELOW TO SEE VIDEO AND LISTEN TO HECKLERS:

WASHINGTON – A Hindu clergyman made history Thursday by offering the Senate’s morning prayer, but only after police officers removed three shouting protesters from the visitors’ gallery.

Rajan Zed, director of interfaith relations at a Hindu temple in Reno, Nev., gave the brief prayer that opens each day’s Senate session. As he stood at the chamber’s podium in a bright orange and burgundy robe, two women and a man began shouting “this is an abomination” and other complaints from the gallery.

Police officers quickly arrested them and charged them disrupting Congress, a misdemeanor. The male protester told an AP reporter, “we are Christians and patriots” before police handcuffed them and led them away.

Click here for full MSNBC article.

See excellent discussion on Sepia Mutiny blog here:

You’ve probably seen this photo of Pooja Chauhan and the news video by now:

If you haven’t, from the Times of India:

RAJKOT: Conservative Rajkot went into convulsions on Wednesday when alleged mental and physical abuse by her husband’s family drove a 22-year-old woman to strip to her underwear and walk through the city in protest.

Pooja Chauhan said she had taken to this unique protest after being constantly harassed for not bringing dowry and bearing a girl-child.

The effect was immediate. The police arrested her husband Pratapsinh Chauhan, parents-in-law and neighbours Veji Bharwad and Vinu Dalit on Wednesday, after she threatened to scale up her protest and march nude to the police commissioner’s office if she did not get justice.

“The arrests were made on the basis of Pooja Chauhan’s complaint. We are also planning to take action against Pooja for indecent behaviour in a public place. However, we will examine her mental condition before taking any action,” said Rajkot police commissioner K Nityanandam.

Read the BBC article here.

Click photo below to see the IBN Pooja Chauhan Rajkot protest march video:

AND I FOUND THIS REALLY PROGRESSIVE MATRIMONIAL SITE:

www.idontwantdowry.com

I usually find David Pogue as quite dorky but this I found pretty damm funny: