Richardson, Texas is decorated with many Indian establishments, as the Dallas Fort Worth area is home to one of the largest populations of Indians in the United States. We took this as an opportunity to become more culturally involved, and last Tuesday visited the FunAsia theater to see a popular Hindi romantic comedy, Shaandaar.
The theater itself was unusual. It had a ticket booth located outside the theater with a teller that assisted our poor pronunciation of the movie title, and walking inside the main lobby it was very easy to notice that we were the only non-Indians present at the theater. This was not unexpected, as the theater plays a very limited number of films with English subtitles at any one time. The three theaters were named after characters of a notorious Indian story. Three brothers were adopted by families, all of different religions, and each given a name compliant with their new adopted religion.
Another unique feature of FunAsia was the snack bar. In addition to the usual popcorn and stale candy, there was a counter that sold samosas and kebabs. We had come from a dinner of samosa chaat and mango lassis (Royal Sweets and Fast Foods) down the road, perhaps to complete the experience, so we did not get any of the hot foods. However, if I had been hungrier, I would have jumped at the chance to try another new experience.
We moved quickly into the Anthony theater to get our seats and were greeted by movie trailers put together with a slang-like mix of Hindi and English, a result of pop culture influence on Bollywood films. Shaandaar itself was also presented in a different linguistic tone that older movies, itself in a slang mix of Hindi and English, with various characters emulating notorious, sometimes bad stereotypes of American people. The two twins in the movie, for example, said “Oh em gee” often, and from this creative decision, it became clear what kind of personality they were to have.
The movie itself follows a girl whose sister is getting married to a rich man, seemingly as a way to get money for her family. The girl, Alia, is an insomniac who quite clearly falls for the wedding planner, Jagjinder Joginder, who also happens to be staying with the family (and is also an insomniac). The film follows the wedding week as it is happening, and though the movie was almost three hours long, it was a very interesting exploration of another cultures’ entertainment, as well as a fun way to spend the evening. For me, the most memorable parts of the movie were the digital simulation (comic book-type) parts, taken from the very beginning of the movie, as well as right after the admission. In addition, there was a very interesting scene at a wedding luncheon. Both of the Americanized Indians decided to chat up some boys, who gave them baskets of psychedelic mushrooms and drug infused brownies, both of which were naturally given to the entire extended family.
Overall, this was an interesting and eye-opening experience that I genuinely enjoyed being a part of. I would be happy to return in the future to FunAsia, as I’m sure there are plenty more films to be watched.
