Asian-American International Film Festival ‘05

Pink Ludoos

Friday, July 29 at 7:30pm, Saturday, July 30 at 2:30pm

IN PERSON: Filmmaker Gaurav Seth. Q&A followed by RECEPTION W/GOURMET INDIAN FOOD and MUSIC (Fri only)*

Indian family-arranged marriages for young daughters gets a feisty going over in this film that’s a spinoff of the Bollywood tradition. The setting is the very hip city of Vancouver, Canada’s San Francisco and a Punjabi family beset with the task of arranging marriages for four daughters. Complications are stored away in secret in the family closet. A tradition-oriented Mom runs the show and supports the family with a successful sweet shop. By dint of Grandma’s deathbed wish, Gugan, the beautiful sexually liberated daughter, is condemned to marry a sight-unseen Indian youth. Enter the old medium who lives next door who divines that Gugan is anointed to carry the light. To Gugan’s dismay she discovers that she is pregnant: on her sonogram there are three glittering lights that show up not only as triplets but all girls: undesirable for Indian family planning. Seemingly unabated, the family turmoil rages until with neat plot twists and turns Indian tradition and diaspora modernism come together.

(Canada | 2004 | 90 min | dir. Gaurav Seth | 2005 Reelworld Film Festival (Best Canadian Film) | Audience Choice Award, Whistler Film Festival)

*Reception catered by Sitar in Huntington. Classic music of North India performed by Dee Harris(sarod & Indian slide guitar) and Viral Pandya (tabla).