#best south Indian actresses

[ciyapaofficial]

Top 10 South Actresses In India Who Hit The List In 2023

India's film industry is one of the largest in the world, with many talented actors and actresses making their mark on the big screen. In 2023, several beauties made it to the list of best South Indian actresses in the industry. From Tamil Nadu to Telangana, these actresses have wowed audiences with their acting skills, beauty, and charm. 

In this blog, we will take a closer look at India's top 10 South actresses who have gained immense popularity throughout. From newcomers to established stars, these actresses are truly worth watching out for.

List Of 10 Best South Indian Actresses

1. Kajal Aggarwal

Kajal Aggarwal is one of the top south actresses in the Bollywood film business. She has performed in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and other film industries. She had a penchant for acting and was a scholar in her early years. She changed her attention to acting as a result. 

She had to work hard to master acting because she was raised in a middle-class household, but she eventually co-starred in her first South Indian film with Baba Patekar. Her big break came when she starred alongside Ram Charan in Magadheera. Among her favorite movies are Magadheera, Yevadu, Singham, etc

2. Anushka Shetty

Anushka Shetty is one of the top south actresses in Tamil and Telugu film history. And it would be accurate to claim that most of her films are the main reasons the South Asian film industry is so well-known. But, during a picture session, she was encouraged to try a film; she struck it rich with the first movie she tried, Super. 

She received a nomination for the Telugu Filmfare Awards' best actress category because of the movie. She also won three Filmfare Awards for the films Arundhati, Vedam, and Rudramadevi.  And these are only three of the many honors she has received. Rudramadevi, Vedam, Singam I, II, Si3, Vettaikaran, and the well-known Bahubali Trilogy are some of her most well-known films.

3. Samantha Ruth Prabhu

It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that Samantha's deadly moves in Oo Antava vava, Oo Antava vava, helped make her a household name nationwide. This top-south actress has long been a well-known figure in the Tamil and Telugu film industries, but her role in the movie Pushpa catapulted her to near-universal fame. 

This girl is here to rule the hearts of many for decades to come, thanks to her amazing talent and stunning appearance! Currently popular due to her amicable divorce from Naga Chaitanya, this fierce woman is certain to ignite the market.

4. Rakul Preet Singh

An emerging raw talent in the Indian film industry is Rakul Preet Singh. She primarily worked in the Telugu and Tamil film industries. Her acting career began in 2009 when she accepted an offer for the Kannada film Gilli. She garnered a lot of public applause for her Bollywood debut performance in the box office hit Yaarian.

She has also received numerous honors throughout her modeling career, including Femina Miss Take, Femina Miss Gorgeous Smile, and a fifth-place finish in the Femina Miss India competition. Yaarian, De De Pyaar De, Kick 2, Sarrainodu, Dhruva, Spyder, Shoorveer, and many more are some of her well-known movies.

5. Rashmika Mandanna

Down south, Rashmika has had success as an actress. She is among the best south Indian actresses with the most Instagram followers. Rashmika primarily contributes to the Telugu and Kannada film industries. She received numerous honors, including the SIIMA and Filmfare Award South. 

Following her performance as Srivalli in the blockbuster Pushpa, Rashmika amassed a sizable fan base worldwide. Rashmika's acting prowess has propelled her to great heights; beauty is merely one aspect that keeps her in the spotlight.

6. Raashi Khanna 

She aspired to become an IAS officer, but fate had other plans for her, ending up listing in the top south actress category. She is among the highest-paid South Indian actresses, along with Samantha and Rashmika. 

She most recently appeared in "Rudra," a Disney + Hotstar series starring Ajay Devgn. As we can all see, in addition to her acting, her alluring appearance keeps the audience interested.

7. Pooja Hegde

Pooja Hegde is another well-liked top south actress due to her status as the leading star heroine in South Indian cinema. In addition to playing Ram Charan's female lead in Acharya, she has Kollywood star Vijay's Beast ready for release in the upcoming two months. 

Later on, the lead actress will appear in a Mahesh-Trivikram film. Pooja Hegde has 17.3 million followers on her Instagram page.

8. Kriti Kharbanda

Kriti Kharbanda is one of the most known actresses in Indian cinema, primarily in Telugu and Hindi. In addition to acting in many short plays as a child, she enjoyed modeling. After catching people's notice on the Spar Billboard, she made her acting debut in the Telugu film Boni.

Bruce Lee, Teen Maar, Guest in London, Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana, Karwaan, Raaz: Reboot, and the most recent blockbuster Housefull 4, are among the popular films.

9. Nayanthara

One of the most accomplished and well-liked top south actresses in Indian cinema, Nayanthara is renowned for producing top-notch movies when she is in the spotlight. Despite not wanting to be a movie star, she started performing after the box-office success of her first picture. 

She was given a chance to star in the Kannada film Manassinakkare at this time, which became a great commercial success and landed her a number of subsequent roles. Ayya, Lakshmi, Chandramukhi, Billa, Raja Rani, etc., are a few of her well-known movies.

10. Trisha Krishnan

One of the most well-known actresses in the South Indian film industry is Trisha Krishnan, also known as Trisha. Despite not currently being in the spotlight, she is regarded as one of the top south actresses in the business all-time. She had a strong interest in modeling since she was young, and up until she started college, she had won numerous awards, like Miss Madras. 

The movie Saamy, starring Vikram, was her first significant commercial hit. She has starred in several high-grossing movies like Saamy, Ghilli, Varsham, Abhiyum Naanum, and the Bollywood film Khatta Meetha opposite the legendary Akshay Kumar. She has won a total of three South Filmfare Awards.

Final Words 

In conclusion, the South Indian film industry is home to some of India's most talented and versatile actresses. The year 2023 until now has witnessed and will continue to witness the rise of some exceptional women who have taken the industry by storm with their exceptional performances and magnetic screen presence. 

These top South Indian actresses have managed to captivate audiences with their incredible acting skills and have proven that talent knows no boundaries. Each actress on this list has earned their spot through their hard work, dedication, and undeniable talent. 

Their achievements inspire many aspiring actors who dream of making it big in the entertainment industry. Evidently, these actresses are here to stay and will continue to dominate the industry with their extraordinary performances for years to come.

Original Source:

[chaos-and-sparkles]

In Which I Ramble About Pavitr's Character Design and the Indian Cultural Stuff Related to It

DISCLAIMER: I'm an Indian, and these are all my thoughts and analyses, but I'm also just one person and by no means am I speaking for everyone. I am not all knowing, and I am not immune to being wrong sometimes. These points are all my own thoughts and stuff that I know through my lived cultural experiences and some history and book knowledge, but I've not particularly researched any of these. I'm just out here giving my take from what I know. This is mostly just going to be me rambling, okay? Okay. Let's go!

Anyway okay so I just wanna go from the top down:

No. 1:

First of all his hair

His fucking hair

This is one aspect that i k n o w I'm overthinking and probably wasn't as significantly thought out in the design but it just Spoke to me and by all accounts I'm not the only one

But I'm so glad we have him with his thick gorgeous fricking hair, especially them being like curly/wavy and slightly long instead of straight and cropped or whatever

Like. Indians usually have very thick and luscious hair, not everyone ofc but generally it's a thing, and it's considered a point of pride to have long dark thick hair.

And the thing is for the longest time the beauty standard in India was to have very straight and shiny hair, all the actresses and heroes were doing it, even though that's literally not the realistic case for a lot lot LOT of Indians. There's a pretty big variety of hair texture in India; some of it is regionally concentrated too, eg. in South India you get a lot of frizzy, tightly coiled hair that's rough textured, whereas curly hair is usually silkier and looser curled as you go Northwards,, Bengalis tend to have very wavy thick hair,, etc. By no means a rule or anything, it's just a thing that there's a lot of curl variety and a lot of it was for the longest time considered ugly and unkempt (there are some classist/regionalist elements to this stereotype also unsurprisingly) still is by some people,,, bc the standard was Shiny Straight Hair. It's a standard that's slowly shifting. It's currently leaning more on the wavy and voluminous side. But it's def a thing still.

All that to say, it makes me so so happy to see Pav with his curly-ish lush hair that he wears with such pride and style,, that are a symbol of his own pride and self care too!!!

Also the line about "coconut oil, prayers and good genetics" - I LOVE THAT REFERENCE AHAHABSSK, using coconut oil for the hair is a very common thing here, it's so so good for the hair and the scalp alike and it's relaxing to massage it in too.

I've seen people try to write Pavitr in fics as "quickly brushing some coconut oil through his hair" as part of his morning routine and. Um. That's not how it's done askaskjas, I don't mean to be rude to the writers at all, everyone does the best with what they know and no one knows everything, but also practically speaking that would be greasy and awful.

There are multiple ways to apply coconut oil, ofc. Coconut oil is often massaged into the scalp and rubbed into the hair like an hour before washing, sometimes with lemon juice mixed in, and then washed off when bathing. Some people, especially those with drier and finer hair, apply it as a regular after-hair-wash thing, too, but even so it needs to be rubbed in.

A really beloved thing we have is coconut oil champis, too! This is basically when you sit down cross legged in front of youe mother/grandmother, and she massages the coconut oil into your scalp and hair in a way that literally cures all tension and headaches and leaves your head reeling and is so so good for hair and stress and everything. It's a family bonding thing more than just a hair routine. It's not always done by the mom/grandmother ofc, it's just how most of us first experience it, and they have a technique that none of us can ever quite replicate to the same effect later. As we grow up, we often do it for ourselves and for others. It's a weekly or monthly or even just occasional thing depending on who you ask. But yeah that reference was great I love it dearly!

Also about the hair length

So in the current modern "civilized" standard (Indian schools and society in general tend to do a lot of shit trying to assimilate us into western culture and stamp out our own,, for example all my life I've been in schools where speaking Hindi and Telugu and stuff in class or in the hallways was Wrong and Forbidden and We Must Speak Only In English Bc We Are Educated And Cultured. This is so fucking hypocritical bc they would also have Hindi and Telugu classes and then criticize us for not getting it right or whatever), boys are meant to have short hair. Teachers literally single boys out in class for leaving their hair longer, not the exact length they set as the limit. This was my entire school experience; thankfully it doesn't seem to be the case in college, but that may just be bc I'm in an artsy college. In the workplace it's less stringent but it's still a thing.

HOWEVER, historically and culturally, long hair was considered good and even Important for both men and women. There's huge regional variations in this ofc; Maratha peshwas and higher classes and stuff for example wore a "pilaka" (idk what else it's called), which is the head shaven clean except a tuft in the middle that's sometimes braided. Brahmins still do it too.

But my point being, long hair was considered good for the most part, at most it would be worn in a bun for fighting and working,,, braids are a pretty big deal too. Having to cut your hair short=a symbol of dishonour and/or exile, or reserved for menial workers and so called "low classes".

(This is not stuff you even get explicitly told btw. This is stuff I've mostly inferred and studied from history and mythology and stuff , so there's no guarantee I'm 100% right)

Also, in Sikkhism (I'm not Sikh myself so correct me if I'm wrong, this is just what I know) having long hair is super fucking important for men. The hair is wrapped up in the turban, and the turban is a symbol of honour and pride and literally considered life. The long hair is considered sacred.

Removing the turban is basically a symbol of literally losing your honour pride and sense of self,, not just in Sikkhism, just generally at this point. Cutting your hair? Insult on injury.

Pavitr doesn't have particularly long hair ofc

But having grown up with such rigidly enforced things abt boys having very short cropped hair, it makes me so happy to see an Indian character who defies that.

Also!! Quick tangent about braids and their significance,, they're considered very beautiful and another symbol of pride, intricate buns and what not too! Just wanna drop this to give you an idea of what i mean:

In the Hindu myth of the Mahabharata, Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas (she's a very interesting and important and beloved character, regionally also considered a goddess, she was a princess born of fire married to five princes and the vengeance for her honour literally fuelled the war for righteousness etc etc) vows never to braid her hair again until she has washed it in the blood of Dushasana, a man who forcefully tried to disrobe her in court (it's a whole myth of its own). At the apex of the war, Bheem, her husband, brings her his blood. She washes her hair in it and then for the first time in thirteen years, she braids it.

Braids are not as significant now but it was basically a Pretty Big Deal and I just wanted to talk abt it.

In Hinduism too the gods are portrayed with long hair, it's a Thing.

No. 2:

Okay so moving more downwards,, I have a bunch of Thoughts abt Pavs mask design!

Okay so obv we have the spiderweb-pattern that's a given.

But. The interesting parts are these:

The bindi-like design on his forehead.

Bc my point is

Sure that looks like a bindi. And that's beautiful in itself but I HAVE ANOTHER TAKE

Bindis are traditionally worn by women as a symbol of beauty, prosperity, and again, pride. But while nice, that's not quite a symbolism that fits imo

You know what else is ver similar where my mind immediately goes? A tilak.

The shape is kind of off for a tilak actually, a tilak is more of a U or a V with a dot or a flame-like stroke in the middle. So in that case it looks more like a bindi

But i really like thinking that it's inspired by a tilak too, bc

While a bindi is a decorative mark stuck or painted on a woman's forehead as a symbol of beauty and prosperity

A tilak is basically a mark that's finger-painted on the forehead of , usually a man but there's a softer smaller version for women too and ofc there are women warriors who got tilaks, for auspicious and blessing reasons. So in a Puja or ceremony, a tilak is put as a blessing and an auspicious thing, also meant to impart strength. The head of the household usually gets the most striking or biggest one.

Pandits usually wear tilaks for blessing purposes too, although their design is different and more elaborate than the ones given to others

Gods and goddesses had their own tilaks, some of them very distinctive like Shiva's

The part that applies to Pav is the warrior tilak

Basically before a king or warrior went to battle, it was customary to do a small sending off ritual and for the wife or mother to put the tilak for them and say "Vijay bhava" (may you be victorious)

It's still done for big undertakings and challenges like exams and new jobs and stuff.

It's basically for strength, bravery and victory

The main difference in a bindi and tilak is the intent:

Bindi is for beauty

Tilak is for valour

Which. For a HERO. Just. Chef's kiss.

2. the markings around his eyes!!

I'm sure this has been said before, but it's very very reminiscent of kathakali makeup.

Regionally there's a lot of eye makeup stuff also btw. There are some absolutely beautiful tribal designs and regional designs with a lot of colours but I cant remember specifics rn

Also!! The very distinctive black lines around Pav's eyes?? I love them sm bc they feel so so based in kohl and kajal. Another huge beauty and often pride related thing.

There's even a whole thing where a mother or older sister will often rub a bit of her kohl off on her fingertip and press it behind their loved one's ear so that "buri nazar na lage" (no one's bad gaze catches you). It's called a kaala teeka

The idea being that you're so beautiful and/or cute and bright and lovable and nothing should jinx that and nothing bad should happen to you. It's very rare now and I've never experienced it myself but it's so so precious <33

3. the white markings on his cheeks!

I've seen that explanation of how it's reminiscent of Ganesha, the elephant headed god who is kind of a symbol of new beginnings, intelligence, prosperity, and a ton of stuff I don't even know how to explain honestly, but he's very cool and beloved and has a lot of Good Vibes™ and i love him basically.

I personally am reminded more of kathakali makeup again!! But that explanation is very cool too and i like it!! I don't know if I agree bc i think it m i g h t be a blasphemy to have that imagery on your face, afaik no one here does it for any reasons and we have literal festivals and pujas dedicated to Ganesha

But then again I am a human with limited knowledge and i don't know everything

I personally think the tusk like designs are very cool. However, I also think it would be a bit of a No No for religious reasons. I also think it reminds me more of classical dance face makeup and stuff.

I also think if they meant to make it a Ganesha reference, then he should only have a tusk on one side, bc there's a huge deal about Ganesha being "ekdanta" (transl: one toothed) bc he has a well known myth of breaking off one of his tusks to write a mythologically and culturally significant epic.

There are also a lot of actual cultural face painting things in India that are way cooler than the Ganesha thing in my opinion. So while that theory is cool, I don't personally agree with it. I could be wrong, again, idk what the design intent was exactly.

No. 3:

Next thing: this is a very very small thing and i only have a sentence on it, but i really appreciate Pav's neckline in his suit.

The neckline here? That's the kind of cut that's most typical of kurtas. Especially more ceremonial, kingly, wedding sherwani, or generally festive attire; a regular kurti might have a v-neck or something, but this curved collar? Very Indian and classy in a way I can't fully explain.

No. 4:

This next thing I'm going to go completely ballistic about, everyone hold on to your seats!!!

THE FUCKING MOTIF ON HIS UPPER ARMS. IT'S EVEN ON THE MEHENDI-ISH PATTERN ON HIS WRISTS AND HANDS. THE SPIDER SHAPE TOO. I AM NOT NORMAL OKAY

LISTEN.

LISTEN TO ME

TBIS IS CONFIRMATION THAT KRISHNA PAVITR IS CANON

HE IS SO SO KRISHNA CODED

Idc if I'm delusional, i DARE you to look at that blue design and tell me it doesn't look like a peacock feather

THE SHAPE OF HIS FUCKING SPIDER IS OH SO SUBTLY CURVED TO BE PEACOCK FEATHER SHAPED TOO

There is no human way for me to be normal about this i need a minute

Okay for context:

Krishna is a very important and beloved god in Hinduism. I cannot overstate the love I have for him, even being mostly non religious myself.

There is SO MUCH about him he is such a big deal and thanks to him being made a character in popular Indian cartoons and so many animated and live action movies being made about him, he is literally woven in the fabric of our collective consciousness and love for our culture

He's a mischevious and fun and chaotic and lowkey antiestablishment kid deity. He contains the literal universe. He has a deep abiding love for his people and his family and loved ones and the world he serves. He is a dancer, flute player, sweetheart, lover of life. He has a thousand wives, yet one Radha who he never married but is his literal immortalized soulmate. He guides heroes to duty. He is full of wisdom but also silly hijinks. He is so so beloved.

The peacock feather is his symbol! You could see the peacock feather anywhere and it's immediately OH KRISHNA! He wears a peacock feather, famously. In all his iterations, from childhood to adulthood. Peacock feather is his emblem.

Krishna is depicted through the peacock feather. It's become a very common motif in arts like mehendi and various textile arts to have peacock feather and peacock patterns; I'm sure that existed before Krishna too in several cultural circles but he is definitely a huge part of it since. There is a chikankari motif that is very recognisable that's reminiscent of peacock feather but I'm mostly unsourced on that, going off my own interpretation

But there's a definite link between peacock feather=Krishna=inextricable part of culture and art.

At least in North India. He's less of a big deal the further south you go. Still very widespread and overall loved tho.

So anyway seeing that peacock feather type motif on Pav?? Mixed with his Spiderman identity??? Is so amazing to me.

Krishna coded Pavitr real ✨

(Also yeah people have already pointed out that Pav's hand designs are based on mehendi so I don't need to go into that askjasjkas)

No. 5:

Also. Huge fan of his arm cuffs. It's just another Indian warrior thing; often in ye olde times and in mythology, the cuff would be a lot simpler, often just a thread with an amulet to grant you protection. But it steadily became fancier, and now it can be decorative or a valour thing or both

Very often just decorative now actually. Often seen in weddings and ceremonies too

No. 6:

Okay about his bangles now:

I absolutely LOVE THEM I love them so much I am so obsessed with them actually!!

So. First of all

I remember there being a confusion in like earlier fics especially on whether they were bracelets or damrus or bangles or what

And i have Thoughts

So first of all

They are not damrus/damarus.

Damarus are a musical instrument made of wood and with two beaded ropes to beat on the small drum-like ends. They're also symbols of lord Shiva who uses a damaru.

They are very different from what Pav wears and i remember my fucking whiplash when earlier fics called his bangles damarus. I think i choked on my maggi.

I don't mean to be rude to the writers ofc, they were doing the best with what they knew. But it's just very jarring to me to hear that

I think an explanation I heard was that Pav's web shooter design was inspired by damarus? Which yeah I get that and I actually wanna talk about it bc I very much see it. But they are very much NOT damarus themselves

So

First of all i personally have never seen nor heard of the kind of bangles Pav wears which appear to have a strip of cloth in the middle? While being gold cuffs on both ends? Which is new and interesting actually and opens up aspects abt his character that i find really interesting

Bc first of all: that implies he made them himself from stuff he already had inspired by things he saw. It seems, at least to me, like he used bangles/kadas he had to make the shooters he uses, which are designed the way they are for easier slinging and his cool tricks with them which would be harder if they were solid gold, and also the shape when he does the cool yoyo-y trick and hits The Spot with it and everything is very damaru shape. Which is also pretty cool if it's meant as a reference to Shiva and his damaru (he's a very fierce god with the damaru) or a reference to the street performers who use it nowadays.

Either way - and also additionally the fact that PAV LITERALLY DOUBLED HIS BANGLES AS WEB SHOOTERS WHICH IS SO CREATIVE AND SMART - and developed his own whole signature skillset with it?? And made his own bangle/shooters as I said before????

My boy is PEAK jugaadu

He is the embodiment of jugaad

Never has anything been so true to the Indian spirit than jugaad

Okay so for context, the jugaad that I keep talking about:

It basically means makeshifting and/or inventing stuff you need from the limited stuff you have. That's a very simple way of explaining it. Just imagine that, but up the silliness level x100.

For example, a guy jugaaded a showerhead by poking holes in a sprite bottle and putting a hose in it and routing it to the tap.

Jugaad can be both very smart, and very funny and silly

And it usually involves combining useless stuff/trash/just stuff you had lying around to make smth that you didn't wanna waste money buying, and often ends up having more functions than the stuff it was meant to replace. This but it's also very crackheaded. Like idk how to explain. It's basically makeshifting, but it's just developed into such an Indian Spirit Thing™ that we have a word for it

So i love that Pavitr's bangles do all of that. He is a true Indian boy to his core!

No. 7:

Okay I have thoughts on his dhoti too!

So.

Blue.

I know why they used blue for his dhoti, what with the spiderman colours, the need to complement his bright red with smth softer, and everything. I get it and i love it so so much. What I'm about to say next is not a complaint against this at all, it's very good design imo

But.

Everytime I look at him in his fucking blue dhoti

I just remember all the times my grandmother has apprehended me and made me go and change for trying to wear blue or black at a Puja

Bc they're apparently unholy colours ;_;

Basically yellow, saffron, red are the appropriate holy colours. Now that i think about it, I've never seen a god or mythological king depicted in a blue dhoti or generally blue clothing either - farthest they go from the three i described is pink or green

I never really thought about it until my Nani pointed it out. I'm still not sure if anyone except her even knew or cared about it.

But that is the memory that bonks me on the head every time i Perceive the blue dhoti

Bro upgraded from funeral colour (white, which is his dhoti in the comics and absolutely infuriates me on a visceral level) to unholy colour askaskjjska it's so funny to me

Purple was still a luxurious colour, but generally warmer and/or lighter colours are The Done Thing. It's an old notion and the cultural connotations are now very diluted by Western influence and also none of us Caring about a lot of it anymore (not necessarily a good or bad thing particularly)

Indigo also has. Loaded connotations.

Because Britain did a Colonialism and a lot of Indians suffered for it. It's a whole history lesson.

I would rather not get into the whole details but basically Indigo (the plant from which the dye was made) was a valuable commodity and Britishers essentially forced farmers to grow only that, ignoring their need to grow food or sustenance or care for the land in general, especially in the Bihar-UP regions. There were eventually a lot of revolts where many people, esp farmers, died.

Basically a double whammy of starvation and death as a direct result of colonialism. It was a major part, historically, that sparked rage for the freedom movement

If you wanna learn more abt it you can search up Champaran farmer revolts!

Also about the drape of Pav's dhoti:

I've seen a couple of memes and reels abt how Pav, in an emergency, suiting up for Spiderman duty, would be taking an hour to drape the dhoti and stuff

And those are hilarious and i love them

But also

That's literally not even a proper dhoti -

So the thing pav wears is basically more of dhoti-pants with a cummerbund.

So okay I need to explain this better hold on

A dhoti is basically a sheet of fabric that is draped around the waist and down. The elaborateness of the cloth can vary vastly from intricately patterned silk and brocade, to plain white cotton with a thin gold border optional

The drape of the dhoti varies even more depending on region, occasion, occupation, and status. You can have everything from the casual simple towel like drape and tuck that some men wear to relax on a daily basis, to an intricate thing with many folds and pleats and tucks and the middle part that hangs (I forget the name for that) that would actually legitimately take hours and is often adorned with jewellery . To a thing that's flexible to move in and also looks very pretty and is genderneutral some dance forms call for.

Basically. The drape varies vastly. And it's all one cloth, maybe a second one for a separate cummerbund sometimes, I'm not that well versed abt dhotis tbh.

But the thing Pav wears?? It doesn't seem to me to be folded the way I've ever seen any dhoti

The way it's folded and shaped is not how those style of dhotis work. There would be a lot more pleats and folds, for one. But it's not shaped the way to match the less-folded dhotis either.

Now, I'm no dhoti expert, but that leads me to believe that's not a full on dhoti. What it's more likely to be is dhoti-pants

Dhoti pants are this fusion thing. It's in the name. I haven't seen it much but I know/think/am pretty sure its a thing, bc most Indian guys now don't know how to drape a dhoti either and it's a good solution. Worn like a pant, looks like a dhoti. Simple. A cummerbund for the middle drape, and you're set!

Also side note: the fold with the distinct two legs and the middle drape that Pav has? Is the most commonly depicted warrior and king drape,, at least in North and Middle India, I'm not as well versed about the South but I think it's the case there too. The gods are depicted in that drape too

I have fewer comments on his leg design, I like that it's reminiscent of mehendi even on his feet bc yeah that's also done on the feet, although rarer now and also a bridal thing

No. 7:

He has gold cuffs on his ankles that I really like!

Okay so here's the interesting thing:

I could be wrong, but

But that kind of thick ankle cuff is not actually an Indian thing?? At least not in the warrior hero context that a lot of his design seems based on. At least not of that shape and width.

What we do have though are very simple metal ankle cuffs put on (I think) one ankle of young kids for protection,, again a tradition I'm not very familiar with, it's more localised

The other thing we have that's more interesting tho:

We have payals and ghungroos!!! Which opens up so many exciting prospects to me because those are both dancer things

Like. The payals are ornamental. They are beauty things as well. All women would wear them, their elaborateness and style depending on status, money, and region ofc

They double as dance and performance things too ofc

But ghungroos are specifically dance things

Very very sacred and honoured to the dancers, too. Quite personal

(These are all little bells on the ghungroos btw!! Hundreds of them. They ring out when the dancers dance)

This is what Pav's ankle cuffs most remind me of. It's not the same thing ofc, and idk if the designers were even thinking of this.

But it would be really cool if he was inspired by ghungroos to have cuffs of similar thickness and placement on his legs. Perhaps even familiar to him hmmm?

This is me theorizing HARD to support my headcanon, but combined with Pav's classical dance-n-martial-arts-y moves, i present to you: Pav learning classical dance when he was younger (a thing that a lot of Indian kids do and only a few seriously continue for their lives) is real.

I rest my case

Like yeah it's known at this point that Pav's moves are based a lot off the martial art of kalaripayattu. Which is SO AMAZING AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! But I also think this would be a cool influence alongside that, bc it really feels visible too.

No. 8:

The fact that Pavitr is barefoot is so so important and dear to me!!!

In Indian culture, you're supposed to take your shoes off as a mark of respect, before entering the ranabhoomi (literal transl: battleground, but not in an actual war with swords and shit ofc)

Being barefoot for pujas and in temples and on sacred ground in general is very important

As is being barefoot when you're walking onto a kabaddi or wrestling ground,, basically any fight that's supposed to be important and/or with honour. It's a respect thing for the opponent and for the earth you fight on.

There are a lot of contexts where being barefoot is important or a given

There's the prayer ground bc it's sacred and holy and you can't be dragging your dirty ass shoes there it's super disrespectful. You gotta enter with clean feet specifically, dirty feet are considered disrespectful too. that's also why there wil often be feet washing areas outside of temples here

Then there's the ranabhoomi that I just said, which is more of respect for your opponent and the earth. Respect to the earth especially is very important in the combat forms and sports I know of at least

Then there's the basic respect and tbh the hygiene thing too, of always taking off your footwear before entering another persons house. That one is more flexible, sometimes you can take it off inside, but the done thing is to take them off outside generally. Especially if you're a guest who's not particularly close. You'd be considered really rude if you didn't take them off at all. But again that still varies by person,, the older generations are way stricter abt it

Then the bride thing,,, it's actually a whole small ritual. The bride and groom will enter the groom's house for the first time,, which is considered the bride's new home bc misogynistic tradition so yeah. But basically it's supposed to be an auspicious beginning to a new home and life. (Btw being barefoot during the wedding ceremony is also generally required)

Usually, at least in North Indian tradition, a small vessel of rice is kept at the threshold that the bride must tip over with her foot when entering. It's for prosperity. Then she steps directly into a plate of a red liquid I forget the word for, but it's basically a sindoor paste type of thing. Her first steps into the house must be taken leaving those red footprints behind. That's for auspicious beginning

So Pavitr being barefoot is so so cool from a cultural and a character building standpoint

He takes his job seriously, he does it with respect and honour!!! He seems so chill and happy go lucky, but he's deliberate and respectful abt it!! And he's super connected to his culture too, bc you could just Not and no one would care, but it's so important that he does!!

So yeah!

That has been my full ramble askjasjkas. If you made it this far, have a cookie! Thank you and I hope this was interesting <33

[kutputli]

Just some clarity on the example that you used: Keira Knightly was already cast in Pirates before Bend It was released as it was already filming. Parminder Nagra joined ER which was still a pretty big show in 2003 and remained on it until 2009. She was also in Ella Enchanted immediately after Bend It, which was supposed to be big and flopped bad. POC leads do not get a fair shake, but this is not the best example of that, neither is the IWTV cast which frankly just is not high profile full stop.

NAGRA: When Bend It first came out, there was interest in a magazine doing a cover story, and [the marketing team talked] about putting me on the cover. They were told that actually, it would be better to put Keira on it because they would get more bums in seats. It was just hurtful, like, Wow, okay.

Source: Entertainment Weekly, April 2018

"I remember asking to go for a job because an actress basically left - it was a well-known TV show here. I remember phoning my agent and I went, 'Do you think maybe you could just suggest me? The character is very non-specific in terms of family and between 35 and 40 [years of age].

"And the word that came back was that they've already got an Indian person on the cast.

"I went, 'Yeah but I'm completely different to that person'. Is that ever gonna happen when you say that, 'No we've already got a white person on the show'?"

Source: BBC April 2021

"And "I don’t understand why, if there’s a role between 35 and 45, and not specific to a family, why I can’t be seen for it. It’s frustrating.

"People say it's getting better, but I've been having this same conversation for years, and I'm bored of it."

Source: The Irish Times April 2021

"In the intervening years, once the glory of Bend It Like Beckham had subsided and movies with a majority South Asian cast were few and far between, I watched Keira Knightley emote through clenched teeth in countless blockbusters, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers exhibit maximum pout headlining The Tudors and Match Point. Parminder Nagra, meanwhile, was relegated to that most South Asian of roles, a doctor on ER. The post-racial utopia promised by Bend It Like Beckham had not eventuated. Nasser Hussein aside, it turned out Keira Knightley was the chosen one, and the joke was on us."

Source: Kill Your Darlings, October 2020

[triviareads]

do you have diverse modern romance recs?

Yep! I've (mostly) organized it by author:

Naima Simone: I'm obsessed with literally everything this woman writes, both Harlequin and not Harlequin. Naima writes a lot of fabulous Black heroines (and she writes great body diversity as well) and a decent amount of POC heroes as well. My favorites include . Black Tie Billionaire (Black heroine, Asian hero), Secrets Of A One Night Stand (Black heroine, Pacific Islander hero), and Trust Fund Fiancé (both the hero and heroine are Black). The best thing about Naima's books is just the uniformity in how she writes every body type as attractive and desirable and the sex is very hot. Would absolutely recommend.

Katrina Jackson: I haven't talked about Katrina enough, when she's out here doing the most for mafia romances and spy romances with diverse characters. I could happily read her novella Beautiful & Dirty over and over, but it's a prequel to the mafia series which ends with my favorite, The Don, which has a Black heroine. Katrina also wrote a spy series (The Spies Who Loved Me!) and the first in that series, Pink Slip, has a Black heroine who's lusting over her married bosses (the wife, Monica, is Latina I believe) and surprise, they're both into her too.

Angelina M. Lopez: Angelina writes excellent Latino rep. Her fictional town Freedom, Kansas, which is the setting in multiple stories, has an amazing Mexican-American community she builds on. I'd recommend After Hours on Milagro Street, which has a Mexican-American heroine, as well as her upcoming Full Moon Over Freedom, which is next in the series. The way she melds culture, magic, and romance is gorgeous. Also! Lush Money, which is set within this universe, has a Latina heroine and is very fun and worth reading.

Tara Pammi: If you want to read about Indians in India or Bollywood-centric romances, Tara is the author. I liked Claiming His Bollywood Cinderella and The Secret She Kept in Bollywood (that man is suuuch a DILF he's great).

Jadesola James: I've talked about her before (see here) but Jadesola has written a couple Harlequin Presents stories set in Africa. I'd recommend The Royal Baby He Must Claim and The Princess He Must Marry, which are about sisters who are Nigerian princesses.

Talia Hibbert: The Brown Sisters books are bangers, sexy and emotionally comforting at the same time. I'd recommend all of them: Get a Life, Chloe Brown, Take a Hint, Dani Brown, and Act Your Age, Eve Brown. I also love her novella Guarding Temptation, which has both a Black hero and heroine and Wanna Bet? which has a Black heroine and a British-Indian hero (thanks for reminding me @viscountessevie).

Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai: The hero and heroine are in-laws (well, her husband, his brother, is dead) so the romance was very emotional and slow-burn, but the pay-off was absolutely worth it. The heroine Sadia is Pakistani-American, and the hero Jackson is of Japanese and Hawaiian ancestry. Alisha also delves pretty deep into South Asian family dynamics which hit a liiiittle too close to home, but I can't deny the accuracy.

Reel by Kennedy Ryan: This a romance between an actress and her director (both are Black) and I particularly appreciate the amount of research Kennedy Ryan put into the Harlem Renaissance, Black artists of that era (she created a fictional artist to base the movie off of), as well as their contributions to the Civil Rights movement which I think isn't discussed enough.

Sink or Swim by Tessa Bailey: See here.

From what I recall, Katee Robert did a pretty good job of body diversity without super explicitly mentioning race in her Fairytale Villains Who Fuck Wicked Villains series.

[brokoala-soup]

South Indian cinema: Part 1

I think we (I) don't talk enough about my obsession with the South Indian film industry. I'm less of a star or fame powered fangirl and most of my obsessions start from very niche observations and qualities. Both me and my mom are good cinema enthusiasts, that being said, we love not just watching movies but also analyze them and talk about them in great lengths and detail; and it isn't always just about the actors but also the scenes, the cinematography, the dialogues and so on. We enjoy a good story based cinema that's more about carrying the characters in place and action than about how much hype a movie gets. I enjoy old movies, including monochrome movies of the yesteryears and the faded coloured classics of the 70's and 80's.

Let me go from one obsession to other. First, comes my unexplainable obsession with actors who are also trained dancers. That's a sexy characteristic because it adds an edge to the actor's identity over being just a movie star and IMHO, it also refines the depth of character and acting skills (many talented actors who aren't dancers do exist, this is just my view). I have this captivation with dancers because something in them, be it the unseeable depth of efforts and practice and hurdles they cross before they set foot on the stage or be it the inordinate amount of beauty they express and portray in both costumes and jewelry or be it the grace with which they carry themselves or be it the way the fluidity, fragility and fierceness of dance entwines with their soul and body making it indistinguishable, obvious and redefines their identity and adds meaning to their character for the better. Irrespective of gender, classical dance forms in my opinion, have a profound effect on the individual and somehow makes them all the more charming to me because it's art that flows in their body and art has that unique fragrance to which you can never turn a blind eye to. It also anchors you down to your inner zen because gender conforms and norms are all broken (atleast in Indian classical dances) as both male and female dancers play either roles in dances and it's all the more about expression and emotion than the role per se. And that I think is a very liberating thing and I love Indian classical dances for it.

So here goes the list: Kamal Haasan is a trained Bharatanatyam and Kathak dancer; the best of which is seen in his performance in the movie Sagara Sangamam which is a majorly dance based movie. My most favorite scene is when he humbles Sailaja when she opposes his critique. Padmini, one of the famous Travancore sisters, was a trained Bharatanatyam dancer and in her retired days also opened a dance school and taught abroad. Shobana, one of my favorite actresses, who is also the niece of the Travancore sisters is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer; she also received a national award for her performance in the Malayalam movie Manichitrathazhu which was the original for the famous Chandramukhi, Bhool Bhulaiya, Nagavalli, Aatmamitra etc. I rate her acting top notch because her expressions and her eyes often speak way more than the dialogues. Revathi, is again a trained Bharatanatyam dancer and has delivered multiple box office hits and is also one of my favorite actresses. Bhanupriya, who's pretty famous in tamil and telugu cinema, is a trained Kuchipudi dancer and appeared in the film Sitaara which went on to win the National award for that year. Jayalalitha, apart from her successful political career was a leading film actress in the tamil industry. She was trained dancer of multiple forms like Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Mohiniyattam, Kathak etc. Sukanya, who famously starred against Kamal Haasan in Indian, is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. Prabhu Deva, who we all know as the Michael Jackson of India, is a trained Bharatanatyam and Udupi dancer. Amala Akkineni, is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer and also has a degree bachelor degree for the same from Kalakshetra. Vineeth, who works mostly in tamil, telugu and malayalam films is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer; lesser known but he's Shobana's cousin and Padmini's nephew from her husband's side. Asin, who is well known for her role in Ghajini, is also a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. Jayam Ravi, now well known as the Ponniyin Selvan after the famous novel adaptation, is also a trained Bharatanatyam dancer.

This is in my list (can't think more, brain fried) do feel free to add more. Tagging @sister-of-satan @voidsteffy and @bipdf because I think y'all will enjoy reading this

Do reblog and tag people who'd enjoy reading this

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"I DON'T THINK THAT PEOPLE GENERALLY REALIZE WHAT THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY HAS DONE TO THE AMERICAN INDIAN..."

PIC INFO: Spotlight on the late, great Sacheen Littlefeather poses backstage at the 1973 Oscars with the speech Marlon Brando had prepared after deciding to reject his Best Actor Oscar at the 45th Academy Awards on March 27, 1973.

OVERVIEW: "Marlon Brando had actually won and accepted an Academy Award for “On the Waterfront” at the 1955 Oscars, but he wasn’t as eager to attend the 1973 ceremony, which was taking place amid the Wounded Knee Occupation in South Dakota. Instead, he sent an actress and activist named Sacheen Littlefeather in his place, along with a prepared speech in the event that he won for his performance in “The Godfather.”

Littlefeather took the stage when Brando’s name was called, but she refused to accept the Oscar statuette from presenter Roger Moore.

“I’m representing Marlon Brando this evening and he has asked me to tell you in a very long speech, which I cannot share with you presently because of time but I will be glad to share with the press afterwards, that he very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award,” Littlefeather said, in part. “And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry — excuse me — and on television in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee,” she continued amid booing and applause from the audience.

Brando later told Dick Cavett he was “distressed” by the audience’s treatment of Littlefeather amid the speech but ultimately felt that it was “a marvelous opportunity” to bring the issue to light.

“I don’t think that people generally realize what the motion picture industry has done to the American Indian, and as a matter of fact, all ethnicities, all minorities, all non-whites,” he told Cavett."

-- NEWS NATION NOW, "Academy Awards: Only 3 winners have ever refused their Oscars," by Michael Bartiromo, c. July 2022

Source: www.newsnationnow.com/entertainment-news/academy-awards-only-3-winners-have-ever-refused-their-oscars.

[thenewwei]

11 years ago today, my first novel The Brotherhood was published. 5 years ago today, the second edition of The Brotherhood was published.

The Brotherhood remains my most popular book. I've been talking with some people in TV about making it into a limited TV series. If so, it would be as groundbreaking, if not more so, than the book: the first mystery/drama TV series with mostly Indian-American characters set in the USA, that I can think of.

Because of that, the project still remains an up-hill battle. Almost all American TV series with People of Color are comedies, and despite what they claim, very few industry insiders are interested in financing and screening content that's genuinely original and challenging. I'm looking to connect with more people in the TV/film industry, particularly of South Asian descent, who can make this happen: content acquirers, writers, directors, producers, actors, actresses, agents etc. If you know anyone who can help, please send them my way.

It's been 4 years since the publication of The Run and Hide, the second volume of The Brotherhood Chronicle. Despite getting the least acclaim and having won no awards, this remains my personal favorite book, and a darling for Desai diehards.

The Dance Towards Death was published 3 years ago, and it's won 13 literary honors in that time, my most acclaimed book so far.

In about a month, it will be the 10th anniversary of Good Americans, my most provocative book and a subject of divided opinion. Its anthology sequel, Bad Americans, is my longest and most ambitious book to date, a novel and short story collection in one. I'm working hard on it, and the polished manuscript should be ready to send out to agents etc. around January 2024.

I've stayed the course and maintained my literary independence for more than a decade. Let's see if I can do that and still convince a major publisher to bring Bad Americans out into the literary sphere and get it the wide acclamation and readership I believe it deserves.

The New Wei Literary Movement and its associated Salons are gaining traction. I've met many writers, artists, musicians, actors and filmmakers over the last six months and I hope we've inspired them to produce new dynamic projects.

I'm also working to interview provocative artists of many mediums and produce articles on them. Ultimately I plan to write a book on the wider literary/artistic scene, our tumultuous decade and The New Wei.

Then there are my travels: recently to Germany/Austria/Italy, across the USA and soon to Greece and Turkey too. I know a lot of people have been screaming for me to write a non-fiction book about all these crazy adventures, and that might finally happen.

In addition, there's plenty afoot at the library too: our annual Southeast Queens Author Festival at Cambria Heights Library on 9/30 at 1:30pm, dynamic planned panels for ALA in Baltimore and San Diego, a renovated Teen Center, new art installations, and plenty more.

Things have been busy in the best possible way, and I'm grateful for it.

[historyhermann]

Velma Review

Velma is a mature animated series which mixes the genres of mystery, comedy horror, and thriller. It is based on characters from the Scooby-Doo franchise and is an origin story, of sorts, for Velma Dinkley, before the formation of Mystery Incorporated. The series was developed by Charles Grandy. He previously created Guys with Kids, produced episodes of The Office, and has been a creative collaborator with Mindy Kaling, the voice of Velma, since 2013. This review will have spoilers.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the twenty-fifth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on February 17, 2023.

The plot of Velma primarily centers around the story of Velma Dinkley. She attempts to uncover the perpetrator who murdered two local teenage girls, Brenda and Krista, and circumstances behind the her mother's disappearance.

She is soon joined by school news reporter Norville Rogers (voiced by Sam Richardson). Her former best friend, and popular girl, Daphne Blake (voiced by Constance Wu) also helps her, since her quest to find her biological parents, draws her closer to Velma.

Unlike previous depictions, Velma is South Asian American, while Daphne is East Asian American, and Norville, often named "Shaggy" in previous Scooby-Doo iterations, is a Black man. This representation is reflected in the voice actors: Kaling is of Indian descent, Wu is of Taiwanese descent, and Richardson is a Black man of Ghanaian descent.

The only one of the original Mystery, Inc. crew who is portrayed as White is Fred Jones. He is a popular 16-year-old rich kid, heir of a fashion line for men, and said to be a "late bloomer". Despite these negatives, Velma still has a crush on him. Voiced by Glenn Howerton, known for his role as Charlie Day in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Fred is accused as the murder suspect of Brenda and Krista, despite lack of evidence which ties him to the crime.

Velma is differs from previous Scooby-Doo series by not featuring Scooby-Doo as a character. Grandy, one of the show's executive producers, said that the show's staff struggled to find a take on this beloved dog. This coincided with Warner Bros. Animation telling them "Hey, you can’t use the dog", as Grandy recalled.

Apart from Kaling, Wu, and Richardson, the cast is relatively diverse, more than other Scooby-Doo series, including Black men, Black women, and actresses of Cuban, Chinese, Filipino, Malaysian, and Indian descent. This aligns with the focus of Kaling's small-but-powerful production company, Kaling International, which founded in 2012 and described by Time magazine as telling stories about "inner lives of women of color" and stories of underdogs.

While in previous iterations, Velma has been in romantic relationships with men, her romantic attraction to women was hinted in episodes of Mystery Incorporated and in 2022 animated film, Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! In contrast, Velma depicts her as bisexual, as she has a crush on Fred, and accepts Daphne's feelings toward her. Like other versions, Norville has a crush on her, but it is not received by Velma, as it appears. This leads him, to later, date a cool girl named Gigi (voiced by Yvonne Orji).

Daphne has a crush on Velma, kissing her at the end of the second episode (as shown in the video above), causing her to go into a bit of a panic. She has crushes on men as well. Her actions are partially affected by her two incompetent police detective mothers: Donna and Linda. Both are voiced by lesbian actresses: Wanda Sykes and Jane Marie Lynch. Lynch previously voiced a lesbian character, Mrs. Roop, in The Ghost and Molly McGee, while Sykes voiced a lesbian character Deb, in Q-Force.

This representation is not limited to Daphne, Velma, Donna, and Linda. Cherry Jones, who voices the mother of Fred, Victoria, is a lesbian actress, as is Fortune Feminister, voice of popular girl Olive. Others are unambiguously queer, such as Nicole Byer, the voice of Crystal Cove High principal (and mother of Norville) Blythe Rogers, and Shay Mitchell, the voice of Brenda. This series appears to be the first voice acting role of Mitchell.

Despite this, the characters of Donna and Linda appear to reinforce the lesbian cop trope, which depicts adult lesbian characters as cops. This trope is said to make such characters more palatable to so-called "average people" in the U.S., if these women, mainly women of color, are "helping to uphold the systems that oppress them".

These characters seem to fall into the has two moms / two dads trope, although such a trope ignores "traditional" views of family life necessitating a mother and father. In this case, Donna and Linda are the same gender as their parents, just as Barry and Randall Leibowitz-Jenkins are in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. In fact, Sykes had personally served as a former NSA contracting specialist for five years, something which could have influenced her role as a police detective in Velma.

This breaking of the nuclear family is present in Velma's family, as her original mother, Diya Dinkley (voiced by Sarayu Blue), left. As a result, her father, Aman (voiced by Russell Peters), a lawyer, re-marries to Sophie (voiced by Melissa Fumero), owner of a malt shop in town and a pregnant model. The latter is often belittled by Velma.

While the first season spotlights Velma's long, and strong, friendship with Daphne, with Velma even proposing they become girlfriends in episode 8, it ends with everything up in the air. As a result of the events in the show's season one finale, Velma's personal life is in shambles. This is unfortunate because the writers had a chance to make Velma/Daphne canon, but chose not to. Instead, they went the route of Never Have I Ever, Wednesday, and even Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl by setting the groundwork for a likely love triangle between Daphne, Velma, and Norville, but not Fred. Such a development shows the limitations of Velma.

Velma has been received by critics, and those on social media, with mixed reviews. Apart from the diverse cast and LGBTQ+ representation, I was drawn into the series as a new fan to the Scooby-Doo franchise. The dialogue can, sometimes, be snappy, funny, and witty, while the plot can move along smoothly. The characters, themselves, can be compelling enough to make viewers sympathize with them, but aren't always this way.

Even though Velma is snarky, one can root for her at times, but not at others. The former is the case when she has horrifying hallucinations as she feels guilt for her mother's disappearance. The only parallel that comes to mind is Julian Chase in gen:LOCK. Although he is only alive as a copy of himself, as his original body barely survived, he faces internal demons, which manifest in his memoryscape, while he faces external demons in the form of the Nemesi, who are "evil" copies of him.

While there is some similarity between both characters, Velma doesn't face trauma akin to the terror Chase experiences. However, she still faces the crushing burdens and oppression of being a person of color, and is in part of some dangerous situations.

Velma sometimes cheapens its own protagonists, even making them unrelatable, at times. For instance, late in the season, Daphne begins a fake relationship with Fred so that both of them can become popular, even if it enrages Velma. Daphne also wants to become part of Jones Gentlemen's Accessories, and is willing to put everything on the line.

On the other hand, Velma acts awful to everyone throughout the series, even acting like she is in a relationship with Norville to fool her mom, Diya, who is recovering her memory. She is probably even worse than the toxicity of Penny Proud's long-time friends in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.

The series seemed to counter past claims about Norville's supposed drug use, as he says he hates drugs, and is only shown to be a nerd who likes Velma. While he might appear to be a stoner, he is annoyed, in the second episode, when stoners are listening to his online show. Funny enough, his father Lamont (voiced by Gary Cole), has a design similar to what Norville looked like in previous iterations. The season one finale hints that Norville may begin trying drugs, possibly marijuana, at the suggestion from his father.

In addition, there is a focus on beauty norms, shut-shaming, human experimentation, and the over-bearing power of the government (especially the police). In terms of the latter, the town's sheriff (voiced by Stephen Root), declares that they can't catch a serial killer because "it is a ghost", not because they are incompetent.

For example, in the fourth episode, it appears that Fred becomes a better person after reading The Feminine Mystique. Instead, Velma just sees him as problematic and gross, showing he hasn't changed. His character somewhat improves as the series move forward, as he becomes more sure of himself.

The voice actors of Velma are seasoned, making the series strong in that regard. Many have experience in TV, film, and even theatre roles, or previously played characters on other projects by Kaling, like The Mindy Project and Never Have I Ever.

Furthermore, some voiced characters in Amphibia, Kim Possible, Milo Murphy's Law, Phineas and Ferb, Glitch Techs, and Big City Greens, six all-ages series. Others provided voices in mature animations such as Close Enough, American Dad!, Family Guy, Bojack Horseman, Harley Quinn, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Pantheon, and Bob's Burgers.

I had hoped that characters like Dandruff Tuba, voiced by Weird Al Yankovic, would be more prominent. The name was familar because he voiced Milo Murphy in Milo Murphy's Law, a character with so much extreme misfortune and bad luck that he is prepared for any situation thanks to his handy backpack. Sadly, he was underutilized in the series.

The voice talent of Velma comes through with actors like Richardson, who is best known for voicing Richard Splett in Veep. Also, Wu voiced the Mom in Wish Dragon, Lynch voiced characters in Final Space, Fumero voiced others in Elena of Avalor and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and Peters is a Black comedian. The cast of Velma includes well-known talent like Stephen Root, Ming-Na Wen (voicing Carroll), Debby Ryan (as Krista), and Frank Welker (voicing Fred's father).

Welker has voiced Fred since the character began to be animated in 1969. He previously voiced characters in a variety of series, like Star Wars Resistance, 3Below, Totally Spies!, and Futurama. There is, additionally, Karl-Anthony Towns who voices Jacques Beau (Jock Boy). Towns is a professional basketball player of Dominican descent.

Although Velma is not my favorite series, I somewhat enjoyed watching the episodes. Others may have liked the series as much as I did, or perhaps even more, as Velma broke records for HBO Max in terms of the largest number of people watching an original animated series on its premiere day. In fact, at times, the comedy can be subtle and strong.

The series premiere is a miracle in and of itself, considering the HBO Max content purge championed by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav last year. Two series (Summer Camp Island and Victor and Valentino) were removed from the streaming platform, while Craig of the Creek had its final season order cut in half, and Young Justice was effectively cancelled.

All five of these shows, regardless of other issues, had outward LGBTQ+ representation. Previously, the platform shuttered Final Space, which featured a lesbian protagonist, Ash Graven, voiced by pansexual actress Ashly Burch. The acclaimed Infinity Train, which featured Black and Asian protagonists in the third and fourth seasons.

The fact that the series survived this purge could be due to the fact that it was produced by Warner Bros. Animation, along with 3 Arts Entertainment, Charlie Grandy Productions, and Kaling International. Not only had Charlie Grandy Productions, the production company of executive producer Grandy, worked on previous projects with Kaling before, but an executive producer, Howard Klein, was one of the heads of 3 Arts Entertainment.

Another executive producer, Sam Register, headed Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe. He had previously produced various Scooby-Doo and Tom & Jerry films, Teen Titans, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Young Justice, Harley Quinn, and many others.

Charlie Grandy Productions was known for producing The Office, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Duncanville. The show's producer, Kandace Reuter, had worked on Scooby-Doo!: The Sword and the Scoob and Thundercats Roar, and the show's editors had worked on assorted series, such as Undone, Bojack Horseman, and Tuca & Bertie.

Despite all of these experienced people, in the entertainment industry, working on Velma, it does not take away from one major flaw: music. Apart from a scene in the show's season one finale, in which Velma listens to old voicemails of Norville, the music is altogether unmemorable, and the theme song is strangely alienating.

This is too bad because a Bronx-born Black man, Craig DeLeon, who composed the score of the series, worked with renowned directors in the past. Perhaps his talent was not used as well as it could have been. There were no amazing songs like those in D4DJ or banger songs like the theme song of recently premiered Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

This credibility of the show's producers may have been a reason that the series moved forward on HBO Max, just as Harley Quinn did. It could have been part of the rationale beyond the renewal of a Season 2 for Velma. Considering that the series became a "lightning rod for controversy" and garnered many hate-watchers, it may garner more of a cult following than anything else.

Although the series has incurred backlash, with Wikipedia claiming that audience response had been "overwhelmingly negative", it did not dissuade me from watching the series, nor even writing about it. Surely some of the criticisms, like the comedic lines which fall flat, or possible stereotypes have merit. But, the show is not the worst thing out there as those review-bombing the series on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, or others complaining about it on social media and YouTube, may lead to you to believe.

This season had Fred, and his family, as the manifestation of White privilege and wealth. It is on par, in some ways, with the snobbishness and narcissm exemplified by nouveau riche protagonist Kaz Khan in Neo Yokio.

At the same time, the series exemplifies the reality of how easy it easy for someone, especially people of color, to be swept up in the criminal system. After all, Velma herself is almost imprisoned by being at the wrong place at the wrong time, before she falsely implicates Fred in the murder.

Thee show's plot only hints at part of what the Marshall Project noted in their November 2020 post about trials in the U.S.: that many felony convictions on the state and federal levels are often results of plea bargains, and prosecutors are some of the most powerful players in this criminal system, relying on sheriffs and police as key witnesses. In many of the states, the Marshall Project noted, that judges can charge for use of a public defender.

In Velma, the arrest of Fred by Donna and Linda is not questioned, despite Velma's defense of Fred, before his outburst causes the judge to declare him guilty. Velma's father, Aman, takes Fred's case because he wants the money for his girlfriend, Sophie, not because he truly believes in the case.

The series highlights the inadequacy of mental health care in the U.S., therapy, and gender disparity. The latter is exemplified by the school Principal, Blythe, only having 50 dollars in the school budget to counter "centuries of toxic masculinity", which she uses to pay for an all-girls self-defense class, taught by Daphne's moms. The former is shown through Norville and his father.

I thought the story's focus, at first on experiments by Doctor Edna Purdue, the grandmother of Norville, a scientist who found a way to keep the human brain alive outside the body, was intriguing. I would say the same for the series plot about Velma's mom, Diya, her lost memory, and manipulation by a miscreant to commit the murders. However, it felt hollow in the end.

Velma reveals that Diya had been manipulated to recreate the lab of Dr. Purdue, recruited by Army General Henry Meeting to create the Special Covert Operations Brain Initiative (Scoobi), a reference to the original franchise. This manipulation happened through hypnosis by Fred's mother, Victoria (voiced by Cherry Jones). It is further noted that Velma herself was hypnotized as well.

Victoria states that she wanted to switch Fred's brain with someone more "ambitious", who she believed were "hot girls",  and keep the global brand of Jones Gentleman's Accessories afloat. This absurd plot cheapened the series. It was compounded by Velma's foolhardy attempt to get her mom to remember anything, involving massive lying, which blew up in her face, and her rupturing of friendship with Norville after falsely accusing his father as the serial killer.

While the social commentary on big companies which support politicians who "look the other way", as is the case for Jones Gentleman's Accessories, is apt, as much as the criticism of economic exploitation in My Dad the Bounty Hunter, it is muddled by the rest of the story.

For one, there are callbacks to the first episode of this series, when female characters were showering in the nude together, sexism by the police, and more. In the case of Velma, it is problematic that the villain is a woman in that it could send a bad message about women in positions of power.

Through all of that, the series seems to hint at a possible storyline for another season, as the police officer who received the file from Velma is killed while putting it in a "solved cases" box. Undoubtedly, in the next season, Velma will continue to use her "pretty good" detective skills, the relationship between Velma and Daphne may develop, and a new "conspiracy board"/"murder board" would come about. The series will likely have a love triangle between three of the protagonists: Daphne, Norville, and Velma.

This is because, in the season one finale, Velma inadvertently said she "loves" Norville, so he came to save her from the serial killer who is out to kill her, Daphne, and Fred. If this comes to pass, and the story straddles the home/school lives of the main characters, and doesn't come into more of its own, it will feel more like a stale CW drama. That would be a serious loss of potential in a story which could be stronger if it's plot had better execution.

In the end, I feel this series is not great but not terrible, as hate-watchers have declared. Instead, it is only in the middle. So, I can't fully, and confidently, recommend giving this series a watch.

The first season of Velma is currently streaming on HBO Max.

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

[hindisoup]

Do you remember what the first Hindi song you listened to was? Do you still listen to it? Did it inspire you to study the language further, or did you ignore it at the time? Spill the musical beans.

Oh, this is an interesting one. The first Hindi film I watched purposefully - as in I made a conscious decision to watch an Indian film not necessarily thinking of its language (in the beginning I watched a mix of South Asian films - Hindi, Tamil, Telugu etc. not really understanding the difference until a bit later) was Daawat-e-Ishq (2014).

I was completely blown away by the aesthetics and whole concept of there being a film with songs in it without it being a musical in the Western sense (Moulin Rouge (2001) was the previous film that swept me away back in the day and that’s a whole another story).

Seeing the song Shayarana on the film had me baffled, how can there be so talented people that look so beautiful - to me it seemed that they can do it all, act, dance, and sing too.

That bubble was burst soon enough when I learned about playback singing but instead of taking anything away from my experience it increased my fascination when I started realising how big and complex productions South Asian films must be and how much talent is included especially when there are numerous song and dance numbers in a single film. I mean there are some Western actors and actresses I appreciate as talented in their craft but there are very few I can even imagine to do an Indian style dance number with a straight face let alone with anything close to the grace required in the more classical style numbers.

Anyway, the point is not to compare the art per se but to highlight my amazement of this whole new world of South Asian cinema I had had no idea existed (well I had seen Marigold (2007) ages ago but back then my reaction was more like ‘meh’ and to be honest it’s just not that good of a film so not the best introduction anyway).

My favourite song of Daawat-e-Ishq was and still is Mannat and I remember it being the first song I searched from YouTube as a lyrical video. To me the lines of the chorus:

मेरी मन्नत तू, तुझ को है तुझ से माँगा

मेरी मन्नत तू, तुझ को है मौला माना

Merī mannat tū, tujh ko hai tujh se māṅgā

Merī mannat tū, tujh ko hai maulā mānā

They sounded like an incomprehensible chant where I struggled to separate the words from one another. I listened to it on repeat until slowly I was able to untangle the sounds in a way that I could sing along - not understanding a single word - and it was such a brain rush.

I remember watching this film maybe three times quite soon right after I had seen it the first time and it’s soundtrack was the first I downloaded on my then iPod (may it rest in peace). I enjoyed it a lot and I was worried that the next Indian film I’d watch wouldn’t be as nice and it would sort of jinx it for me - I really really wanted there to be more similar films. I had little idea of the volume of Hindi cinema at that time. After I took the leap and watched Jab We Met (2007) next, there really was no going back for me.

My language studies started seriously only a couple of years later, but by that time I had gathered such a robust vocabulary of strands of hair blowing in the wind, rain, heart beats and infatuation from hundreds of film songs that I felt miles ahead of my course mates on the Hindi beginner’s course I attended.

Thanks for the ask, this really took me years back!

[thebobby1432world]

Anjali Patil Wiki, Biography, Age, Height, Weight, Family, Net Worth

Anjali Patil Wiki: Anjali Patil is an Indian actress, director, and model born on September 26, 1987, in Nashik, Maharashtra, India. She is mainly known for her role as 'Malko' in the Bollywood film "Newton." Today, we will explore Anjali Patil's biography, including her early life, family, boyfriend, movies, TV shows, and more. Anjali Patil Wiki Anjali Patil Movies Anjali Patil Web Series Anjali began acting in 2011 with the Hindi film "Delhi in a Day." In 2012, she played the role of 'Selvi' in the Sinhala film "Oba Nathuwa Oba Ekka." She also appeared as 'Durga' in the Malayalam film "Ente" in 2013. In 2015, she entered the Marathi film industry and acted in the film "The Silence" as 'Maami'.

Anjali Patil

Anjali Patil Wiki

NameAnjali PatilProfessionActress, Director & ModelNationalityIndianYears Active2011 to PresentNet Worth (approx.)₹5 CroreAnjali Patil Personal LifeNick Name AnjaliBorn (Date of Birth)26 September 1987Age (as of 2023)36 Years OldBirthplaceNashik, Maharashtra, IndiaZodiac SignLibraGenderFemaleHometownNashik, Maharashtra, IndiaHobbies/HabitsSelfie Lover, Photography, Nature LoverFavorite BrandsLevi’s, Gap, Louis Vuitton, Calvin KleinFood HabitNon-VegetarianAnjali Patil CareerDebutIn 2011 - As an ActressAwards2012: International Film Festival of India in Goa - Best Actress - (With You Without You) (Won) 2012: Stardust Awards 2013 - Breakthrough Supporting Performance - Female - (Chakravyuh) (Nominated) 2012: Star Screen Awards for Most Promising Newcomer- Female - (Chakravyuh) (Nominated) 2012: New York Indian Film Festival for Best Actress - (Delhi in a Day) (Nominated) 2012: South Asian Film Festival New York - South Asian Rising Star for Best Supporting Actress - (Delhi in a Day) (Nominated) 2013: Nandi Award - Nandi Award for Best Actress - (Naa Bangaaru Talli) (Won) 2013: National Film Award – Special Mention - (Naa Bangaaru Talli) (Won) 2016: Sarasaviya Awards in Colombo Sri Lanka - Best Actress - (With You Without You) (Won) 2016: Presidential Film Awards in Colombo Sri Lanka - Best Actress - (With You Without You) (Won)Anjali Patil EducationSchoolNot KnownCollegeLalit Kala Kendra (Pune University) National School of DramaQualificationGraduated (in Acting) Post Graduate (in Design and Direction)Anjali Patil Family, BoyfriendMotherShubha ShindeFatherSanjay ShindeSister/BrotherNot KnownMarital StatusUnmarriedAffair/BoyfriendNot KnownHusband/SpouseNot KnownDaughter/Son/ChildrenNot KnownRelativesNot KnownFriendsNot KnownAnjali Patil Body Measurements Height165 cm 1.65 m 5 ft 5 inWeight52 KG 114 lbs (pounds)Eye ColorBlackHair ColorBrownFigure Size32-30-34Dress Size36 (EU)Shoe (Feet) Size5TattoosNoneDistinctive FeaturesSmile & ConfidenceAnjali Patil Social MediaInstagramInstagramFacebookNot KnownTwitterNot KnownYouTubeNot KnownLinkedInNot KnownGmail/Email IDNot Known

Anjali Patil Movies

YearMovies2011Delhi in a Day2011Green Bangles2012Prathyayam2012Oba Nathuwa Oba Ekka2012Chakravyuh2013Ente2013Naa Bangaaru Talli2013Apna Desh2013Shree2014Kill the Rapist?2014Finding Fanny2015The Silence2015Mrs Scooter2016Mirzya2017Sameer2017Newton2018Meri Nimmo2018Kaala2019Dithee2019Mere Pyare, Prime Minister2020Mann Fakiraa2022Kuthiraivaal2022Kaun Pravin Tambe?-Bardo

Anjali Patil Web Series

YearWeb Series2019Hutatma2020Afsos2020My Client's Wife Read the full article

[dankusner]

Remembering “Gone with the Wind”

Summer, some time in the nineteen-seventies.

The world was different.

School was out, and my mother—the head of our household—worked part time in a nursery school as a teacher’s aid.

Early in the morning—she woke up hours before the world woke up—she’d hitch her trousers up and face the world.

After she left for work, we were on our own, which never felt like being left alone; we knew what she had to do to survive, which included having to trust her children during the hours she was away, hours when she was not seen but felt.

We were her first boys.

Before giving birth to me and my little brother, my parents had had four girls.

Now her daughters were in the world with children of their own, lives they described to our mother over the telephone.

The little apartment in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn was hot, next door to a gas station;

the fumes were part of our atmosphere, like the sound of kids playing ringolevio in the streets below, and the air that did not move.

I was about to be a teen-ager, and prized the idea of home; my brother was several years younger, bespectacled, and silent.

I loved him, but couldn’t be loving:

I was his older brother, and responsible for him, which meant being irritated by him, and feeling burdened by him, and sometimes treating him as our visiting father treated me: as a source of pride and incomprehension and scorn.

While our mother was at work, my brother and I made things. Bread from scratch.

Dinner.

Returning home to her little husbands, our mother smiled at what we managed to achieve, and what we wanted to achieve the next day and the next.

On Fridays, she treated us to take-out food.

We’d walk over to Flatbush Avenue, which was maybe three blocks down from where we lived, and eat pizza loaded with garlic, or beef patties from the West Indian shops that were fast replacing the neighborhood’s Jewish delicatessens.

Sometimes, on Saturdays, we’d go to the movies.

They showed serials then.

One Saturday, our mother asked if we wanted to see a film that was based on one of her favorite books—something called “Gone With the Wind.”

It was being re-released right near our house, she said—we should go.

The film was nearly four hours long.

My brother and I had never heard of such a thing. And it took place in the American South, a part of the world that was as alien to us as Manhattan or Queens.

The curtain rose, the music swelled.

The camera tracked toward a beautiful, dark-haired white woman as she said “War, war, war,” while dressed in a green dress with a full skirt.

The world was prettier up there on the screen than the world we’d eventually have to return to;

I didn’t want the movie to end:

the Civil War was the least of my problems.

Outside, there was a rapidly changing and swelling world;

the gas station would never go away.

But the heroine of this Technicolor epic got to suffer in a grand style in a not-crammed apartment.

After the house lights came up, I couldn’t wait to see the movie again, to sink into its long form and avoid those moments that made me feel ashamed—namely, whenever a black person entered the frame.

First published in 1936, Margaret Mitchell’s only novel was one of my mother’s favorites, but I didn’t know how I’d get through the book if slavery informed as much of the plot as it did in the film:

I could close my eyes in a movie and wait for a moment to pass;

this would be more difficult in a book;

words and ideas are entwined with, and depend on, other words and ideas.

But I did read the book, eventually, which felt like a blue print for the film.

Despite producer David O. Selznick’s best efforts to transpose as much of Mitchell’s text as he could to the screen, he had to leave out various subplots, of course, including Scarlett’s dependence on her beloved and scorned Mammy, played, in the film version, by Hattie McDaniel, who became the first black actress to win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role.

Later, I read what other writers had to say about the film, and specifically the Mammy character.

Jamaica Kincaid published her wonderful essay “If Mammies Ruled The World” in the Village Voice, where she described that her real interest in the movie was the Mammy character—and how the white characters didn’t deserve her.

In 1992, Claudia Roth Pierpont published her essential essay about Margaret Mitchell’s life and career in The New Yorker.

I can safely say that Atlanta-born Margaret Mitchell’s worldview helped me see how racist fantasies are borne out of a kind of realism—the realism of the ignorant oppressor.

Money—i.e. slavery and commerce—is central to the story she tells because it buys safety and homogeneity in the white world.

But after blacks are “freed,” some of them becoming carpetbaggers, it’s their blackness combined with an "uppity" attitude that perverts and alarms the white Southerner, not the blood and horror of slavery, and how it came to be in the first place.

Mitchell didn’t create the white Southerner’s antebellum view of blackness, but she helped popularize it in an artifact of great strength that even my mother admired, and that writers ranging from Dubose Heyward to the Atlanta-based Tyler Perry have created some version of, especially when it comes to the Mammy.

Sadly, these attitudes inform one's present-day life, life without mother.

Just recently I was with a young, white, single mother who was complaining about school-lunch fees, unavailable men, and so on, when I said something to the effect that I didn’t remember my mother paying for our lunch when we were in school.

The woman snapped: “She didn’t have to pay! You were underprivileged!”

Before I could correct her, I felt robbed of a response: to contradict her fantasy of privilege and struggle would be to challenge her reality, utterly.

And perhaps that’s why my mother could stomach Mitchell’s various depictions of black womanhood, and of blackness itself:

we have always worn the masks in order to achieve what she had with her boys from moment to moment, in a movie theatre or at home: the hard-won luxury of survival.

Looking back, I suppose what made me turn away from the screen—and, on occasion, away from the book—was Mitchell’s lens on what Mammy and blackness meant to the characters’ whiteness, and how it improved and bolstered their entitlement and vanity, and thus their relationship to power and history.

Mitchell’s Mammy was not my own, nor could my brother’s and my joined impulse to take care of our mother be relegated to Mammying, but such was the tremendous power of Mitchell’s evocation of that figure that after I saw the film version of “Gone With The Wind” and read the book I was brought up short against my mother’s ability to care, and my own and my brother’s.

At least for a time.

[starbiopic]

Aishwarya Rai Wins Big Amid Divorce Rumors: Fans Excited Over Her Latest Achievement

Amid speculations about her personal life, Aishwarya Rai brings home a prestigious award for her role in Ponniyin Selvan 2. Aishwarya Rai Bags Best Actress Award at SIIMA Aishwarya Rai, the Bollywood icon who started her acting career with Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film Iruvar (1997), has added another accolade to her already impressive list. At the South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA)…

[thezeusos]

Aishwarya Rai wins Best Actress at SIIMA 2024, Aaradhya takes pics of mother's win

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and daughter Aaradhya Bachchan wore blingy outfits at SIIMA 2024, held in Dubai. The actor won the Critics award for her performance as Nandini in Ponniyin Selvan: Part 2. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and daughter Aaradhya Bachchan turned up in blingy outfits at South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA) 2024, which was held in Dubai on September 15. She won the Best…

[vedantbhoomidigital]

If you want to look like South beauty in Onam, then take inspiration from these saree looks of actresses, people will keep looking at you

Image Source : SOCIAL South Indian Look Onam, the biggest festival of Kerala, is celebrated with great pomp for ten days. This time Onam festival started on 6 September and it ends on 15 September 2024 i.e. today. So if you want to dress up in a perfect South Indian style on this day, then this article is for you. We have brought some of the best South Indian looks of actresses for you. By trying…