My exposure to Indian culture is, sadly, a bit limited.
First came reading a wonderful novel, A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth, which was eye opening to me as visiting Vulcan for the first time was for Starfleet's original "Enterprise" crew.
Since then, there have been equally spectacular glimpses of India, its people and its customs, via the Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire and one of my favorite TV series in many years, "Outsourced." I also loved the Bollywood musical number in the first season of "Smash."
The point is, I'm more than a little fascinated by India, yet still underexposed to it.
SUJU VIJAYAN audio excerpt: "Because I'm a female director, the critics don't expect The Playback Singer to be as funny as it is."
Watching the new indie film, The Playback Singer, was one more glimpse into a culture that never ceases to compel my interest. Of course, this story takes place in Los Angeles, but no matter. It is the tale of a culture clash that occurs when the lives of a good-for-nothing playground architect and his immigration attorney wife are upended by her fussy, endlessly hypocritical Indian, B-movie playback singer father who comes to visit and overstays his welcome.
And P.S. -- she hasn't seen her father since he walked out on her mother and siblings 20 years earlier.
My guests today are actress Navi Rawat, who plays the daughter, and who my wife instantly recognized as "Charlie's girlfriend from Numb3rs," and who I knew from "Burn Notice." Also with us is the director of The Playback Singer, Suju Vijayan. The film also stars Ross Partridge as the American husband and Piyush Mishra as the playback singer.
The Playback Singer Website • Watch the Trailer • Facebook • Twitter • Order The Playback Singer from Amazon.com
