Saturday Matinee: Tere Bin Laden

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“Tere Bin Laden” (2010) is a Bollywood comedy written and directed by Abhishek Sharma. Pakistani pop star Ali Zafar stars as Ali Hassan, a TV reporter for a low budget news station in Karachi. Determined to find success in America despite previously being deported after being mistaken for a terrorist, he hatches a plan to raise funds for a fake ID with a sensational video using Noora (Pradhuman Singh), a dimwitted chicken farmer who happens to be a convincing Bin Laden lookalike. The plan rapidly spins out of control when it gets the attention of US government officials and the Pakistani intelligence agency. Though some gags dependent on regional references and wordplay may be lost on western audiences, much of it is broad enough to transcend cultures (especially bits mocking the paranoid and xenophobic post 9/11 milieu). Not surprisingly, the film was banned upon release in the US and several countries in the Middle East including Pakistan. The sequel Tere Bin Laden: Dead or Alive was released last February.

Saturday Matinee: Like Stars on Earth

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“Like Stars on Earth” (2007), directed and produced by Aamir Khan is a critically acclaimed Bollywood film that has done much to raise awareness of the struggles of children with dyslexia. The film’s plot revolves around eight year old Ishaan, whose vivid imagination and difficulty with words and numbers cause him to get failing grades. His parents eventually send him to boarding school where a new art teacher recognizes Ishaan’s cognitive differences and devises strategies to help him succeed. Like Stars on Earth is notable for its inspiring storyline, great soundtrack and standout performances by Darsheel Safary as Ishaan and Aamir Khan as art teacher Ram Shankar Nikumbh.

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