Word: salaams
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...were gypsies, Sooni and I. Two sisters in saris surrounded by tuxedoed strangers. But instead of taking our Banjara bullock cart to the nearest water hole, we were in a limo en route to the Oscars, where our first film, Salaam Bombay!, was nominated as Best Foreign Language Film. It was 1989, before the government even recognized filmmaking as a legitimate industry. Armed with just good wishes and some telegrams from family and friends, we spent a few days in the luxury of the Beverly Wilshire, not really minding that we were neglected by our own country. When it came...
...come I spoke such good English. Later, raising money for Mississippi Masala, starring Denzel Washington, a studio head asked me to "make room for a white protagonist." Back home, my films were also alternative. They were the opposite of Bollywood, and I was an outsider. The publicity campaign for Salaam Bombay! was a horse-drawn carriage stuffed with the street kids from the film, re-enacting scenes through megaphones...
...were gypsies, Sooni and I. two sisters in saris surrounded by tuxedoed strangers. But instead of taking our Banjara bullock cart to the nearest water hole, we were in a limo en route to the Oscars, where our first film, Salaam Bombay!, was nominated as Best Foreign Language Film. It was 1989, before private media exploded in India, before the government even recognized filmmaking as a legitimate industry. Armed with just good wishes and some telegrams from family and friends, we spent a riotous few days in the luxury of the Beverly Wilshire, being taken to lunch by Billy Wilder...
...make room for a white protagonist." Back home, my films were also alternative. Mired in the reality of the streets, faithful to the idea that truth is always stranger and more powerful than fiction, they were the opposite of Bollywood and I was an outsider. The publicity campaign for Salaam Bombay! was a horse-drawn carriage stuffed with the street kids from the film, re-enacting scenes through megaphones...
...late in the morning at the Wadi al-Salaam cemetery by the time Sheik Jamal and his volunteers have completed their grim mission. The 72 bodies have been sprayed with disinfectant, wrapped in shrouds and buried. Sheik Jamal thanks the gravediggers, shaking their hands. "I will be in touch," he says. "I'll call and let you know how many [graves] we need next week." Stretching out into the desert, the graveyard is unlikely to run out of space. And since the killings of Iraqis show no sign of slowing, Sheik Jamal will not run out of bodies either...