Raavan Posters!

I'm ridiculously excited about Raavan--mostly the Hindi version, because of Abhishek, but of course I'll watch them both!  It releases June 18 and I've tried as much as possible to stay away from spoilers, trailers, etc., because I really want it to be fresh and new and surprising when I watch it, but I couldn't stay away from the site today, and nabbed the official posters to share with you.  I also grabbed a copy of the pic that's been freaking me out all day (in a good way, in a good way) and gave a listen to some of the background score.  If you want to saturate yourself in the mood of the film, definitely give the site a look. 

Raavan--The Film

And now some visuals!  These posters are all for the Hindi version of the film, but the Tamil posters are on the site as well.

 

And what I like to call "the eyes picture," which seriously I find a bit terrifying, but at the same time I can't look away from:

 

Decorating, Filmi Style

What do you do with a beautiful calendar of old film posters?  Use them to decorate your horribly barren white walls!

I loved this calendar--it was a wonderful random find at the gift shop at the Freer and Sackler Galleries downtown.  Happily I've been able to put it to good use. 

Some close ups:

Andaz, Guide, Darr, Khubsoorat, Pyaasa, and Teesri Manzil

 

Naya Daur, Awara, Baiju Bawara, Deewar, Bilwamangal, and Dil To Pagal Hai

The Stars Do Cannes: Mallika, Aishwarya, Deepika, and Abhishek

The filmi world is being well (mostly, anyways) represented at the Cannes Film Festival this year.  Aishwarya Rai has been looking stunning as usual, Abhishek is finally by her side on day 3 and looking handsome as always, Deepika was beautifully elegant and Mallika was...well...you'll see.

 

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Elie Saab

 This pic has been all over the net; I think the gown is truly stunning but I thought the massive hair (you don't see it as much in this pic but ohhh trust me, it was sky high) was a distracting mistake.  She looks gorgeous at any rate--very feminine and pretty.

 

 Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Giorgio Armani Privé

I love this look on her--very bold and dramatic.  The guys on the left are definitely enjoying the view!

 

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Raavan photocall

Simple, elegant daytime look.  Love the hair, this is so much better than the first night's big bouffant! 

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Raavan photocall (full length)

Soooo part of me wants that Raavan poster for my wall, but the other part of me knows it'd be way too terrifying to wake up to each morning.  I love Abhishek but love only goes so far, you know?

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan

 Abhishek!  Abhi finally turns up at Cannes (to promote his new film Raavan). 

 

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (in Sabyasachi) and Abhishek Bachchan

Abhishek looks his perfect, handsome self, with Aishwarya on his arm in an elegant sari by Sabyasachi Mukherjee.

 

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Gucci

Her most beautiful look so far.  Simple and elegant.

 

Deepika Padukone in a sari by Rohit Bal

Deepika looks stunning here, but the real star of the photo is obviously the man with the balloon pants standing next to her.  I have a strange need to know who that is, and why he thought that might be a good idea.

 

Mallika Sherawat

Here we have Mallika Sherawat, showing us one (actually two) of the things that made her famous...

 

Mallika Sherawat

...and the other.  Bless her, I love Mallika.  I've seen her on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, follow her on Twitter, and have caught more than a few of her interviews, and all indications are that she's a sweet girl and a lovely person, so I feel a bit bad coming out and calling her trashy, but with an outfit like that, and compared to Aish and Deepika, can a person really blame me? 

Mallika, Hisss Hisss

Mallika Sherawat posing with a snake to promote her film "Hisss" at the Cannes Film Festival.  This was pretty much too good to not get its own post.  (Image from Getty.)

Becoming a Bollystar in Washington, D.C. (Part 1)

So you wanna pack your bags, move to Mumbai, and become the filmiest film star in Film City.  You're going to need three things (four if you include looks, but that's a given right?).  Not only do you need to be able to act (relatively anyways), but you need to be a great dancer and speak flawless Hindi*.

*None of this applies if your name is Katrina Kaif, apparently.

As far as learning 'the trade' goes, Washington, D.C. isn't the most ideal city, but it can still be done.  There are a couple of excellent outlets for picking up Hindi as well as a number of dance programs that can have you well on your way to your first Filmfare Award!

Learning Hindi in DC:

1.  The USDA Graduate School
The Graduate School at the United States Department of Agriculture offers top-notch instruction in more than a dozen foreign languages, including Hindi (and rumor has it that they'll be adding Urdu soon).  Classes are held over a ten week period (one three-hour class weekly) and are offered at four different levels. 

I've taken the Hindi courses at the USDA Grad School, and can vouch for the professionalism of the instructors and the program itself.  Word of caution:  these classes are intense.  Expect to spend ten or more hours each week studying and preparing assignments.  The classes move very fast, but you'll learn a lot.

2. The International Language Institute
The ILI is located in Dupont Circle and offers Hindi instruction on nine levels.  Its advantage over the USDA Graduate School is that it tends to offer more scheduling options; while classes are still held on an evening or weekend plan, you can generally choose between the two, which isn't always the case with the USDA (where you usually only have one section per level offered each session).

3.  The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Summer Language Institute
Whew.  Say that a few times!  SAIS, in addition to Hindi training offered as part of a graduate degree program in South Asian studies, also gives non-SAIS students an opportunity to study foreign languages intensively in the summer.  Hindi is offered at several levels (generally novice and intermediate) in a compressed 8-week session, with classes held Monday through Thursday evenings.  This option is far pricier than the USDA or ILI, but covers much more material and is designed to impart a solid grip on the language by the end of the summer.

Best of luck studying Hindi!  Tomorrow I'll talk about some of the best places to study "Bollywood" and Indian classical dance in the DC area.