Nonqaba said ...

This blog is suspended indefinitely.  We are going to direct all our energies to marketing Sweetness the novel, one of the few books by black South African writers.  Thanks for your patronage. Ngiyabonga.   (Thank You). www.sweetnessthenovel.com

I am an NRI, translated into: no-real Indian.  I follow Indian cinema in my quest to find only one million original films before humanity as we know it disappears.  I will use the term Indian cinema sparingly because I only have access to Hindi films, not Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Marathi, Kannada, Gujarati and other languages. Aaja Nachile, director Anil Mehta My apologies for not reviewing Aaaja Nachile earlier!  You know how I admire Madhuri Dixit for her contribution to indian cinema.  I love her in Devdas, Saajan, Sahibaan, Yaraana, Prem Granth, Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam and many more. I love Indian dancing because it is almost similar to Zulu dancing, where the whole body is active, eyes, hips etc.  It also imitates animals. Indian cinema is not about song and dance.  It should be seen in the context of the stories.  Aishwarya Rai explained this very well in her David Letterman interview some years ago, where she said dancing represents certain social occasions be it

I am an NRI, translated into: no-real Indian.   I follow Indian cinema in my quest to find only one million original films before humanity as we know it disappears.   I will use the term Indian cinema sparingly because I only have access to Hindi films, not Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Marathi, Kannada, Gujarati and other languages. Word is out on the street that I don’t know anything about cricket.   True dat, as brothas in upstate New York would say.   What is obvious to me is that a batsman has a bat in his hand.   He is trying to hit a ball that a bowler is spinning towards him.   Right? Cricket fans are glued to their television sets in March 2011, catching the Cricket World Cup action.   It is also time to re-visit the film Iqbal played brilliantly by Shreyas Talpade.   Iqbal and his tough little sister Khadija (Shweta Prasad) love cricket because of their mother, played by Prateeksha Londkar.   She’s a great fan of the Indian cricket team.   Her husband hates it. Iqbal the

I am an NRI, translated into: no-real Indian.  I follow Indian cinema in my quest to find only one million original films before humanity as we know it disappears.  I will use the term Indian cinema sparingly because I only have access to Hindi films, not Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Marathi, Kannada, Gujarati and other languages. Mumbai producers like financing films about evil characters.  I don’t care for them myself but enjoyed the 9 Dalmatians, starring Glen Close as Cruella Devil.  I only saw the film on television because I don’t screen Hollywood movies, since I know what is going to happen based on the title. Cruella wanted to kill puppies in order to make herself a beautiful coat.  I found myself rooting for them.  I also enjoyed the animal solidarity in saving the black and white puppies.  There are many evil characters in Mumbai movies, and I have a few favourites. Dhadkan, director Dharmesh Darshan Sunil Chetty plays Dev, a poor man in love with the beautiful

What is the novel Sweetness all about? 1.        It is about mothers-in-law. 2.        It is about Phillip and Zaba Zimbi who lived in two glass houses joined by a bridge. 3.        It is about how people laughed at them because of that. 4.        It is about Zaba’s relief that Phillip did not marry other wives after her. 5.        It is about their sugar cane farms near Durban called Sweetness. 6.        It is about their three sons who did not want to be in sugarcane production. 7.        It is about the treatment of workers in sugar cane fields. 8.        It is about how sugar production is losing money because people on diet don’t want to eat sugar. 9.        It is about townhouse development taking more and more agricultural land. 10.    It is about choices children make about their lives despite expensive education. 11.    It is about one of the sons who left home and changed himself into a Coloured man. 12.    It is about Phillip’s illegitimate child w

Photo Credit: online pic. I am in this impossible quest to find just one million original films in our lifetime.  How many people are out there in the world?  India and China have more than one billion people.  Asia as a whole has more.  There’s massive Africa.  We can never have the correct figures because a child is born every minute.  In short, there are billions of people in the world and we still don’t have just a million original films.  I have some ideas. Flesh and Not Blood, and written by Nonqaba waka Msimang Davina lives in the country where she manages the family’s rose-growing business.  Their main source of income is Valentine’s Day.  They ship tons of red roses to mainly to North America and Europe.  Her husband Zola is the local mayor and does not have time for the business. She has one son Neville who is a computer genius.  The United States is his main career destination to work for Steve Jobs.  Neville’s wife Sasa, is a social worker and runs an old age home.  Whe

I am an NRI, translated into: no-real Indian.  I follow Indian cinema in my quest to find only one million original films before humanity as we know it disappears.  I will use the term Indian cinema sparingly because I only have access to Hindi films, not Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Marathi, Kannada, Gujarati and other languages. Great jubilation!  You’ll never guess what I found  in a Killarney video and music store that stocks mainly Hollywood titles.  I found Raavan!  I couldn’t believe it.  Yes.  It was an original DVD, complete with the segment called, ‘making of.’  Pirate copies never have that. Amazing!  It is an open secret that I love Mani Ratnam’s work.  It is even a bigger open secret that I love Raavan, because of its South African connection and outstanding cinematography.  The film’s beginning also has a song in my language, Zulu. The joy of a DVD is that it reveals certain nuances you missed in the theatre.  I’ve written about the film’s subtle sensuality.  What I