Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

DISHAD AND KUMAR GO TO MIDDLETOWN

VivalibertyDishad Husain directs and stars in Viva Liberty, one of four shorts in the New Jersey Independent South Asian Cinefest at Middletown Township Public Library.

By TOM CHESEK

A couple of evenings a week at Neelam Exotic Indian Cuisine — located in the otherwise nondescript Village Mall on southbound Route 35 in Middletown — patrons turn out for a buffet night that’s proven to be a popular draw for folks throughout the greater Red Bank oRBit. Whether they’re just getting acquainted with an unfamiliar culinary experience or all-you-can-eat chowhounds looking for a recession-busting deal, they find the eclectic spread put out by Mr. Malhi and family a delightful introduction to the flavors of South Asia.

Rbo_3b

Not much more than a quarter-mile away, at the cool community resource that is the Middletown Township Public Library, a group of DIY directors and cinephiles with an indie jones have assembled the celluloid equivalent of a splendid buffet for the benefit of those who’ve heard good things about a new generation of South Asian filmmakers — but don’t particularly want to wade through hundreds of hours of Bollywood blockbusters to find a gem.

Presented under the banner of the New Jersey Independent South Asian Cinefest, the Monday evening menu of short films — each under thirty minutes long — is the second in a series hosted at the library’s Community Room. Organized by the Monmouth County-based Asian American Film and Theater Project, it’s a traveling sampler of fare from a larger annual event that unspools in September at George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, and it begins at 6p with a selection of food and beverages catered by the nearby Neelam.

Central Jersey’s South Asian-American community has spawned a bone fide movie star in Freehold’s own Kal Penn, and if you’ve enjoyed his performances in the two Harold and Kumar cut-ups — or his impressive turn in the deeply felt The Namesake — you just might be attuned to the themes on display here. In these four films from the US, Canada and the UK, people struggle to maintain their identity as they strive to fit into the larger culture around them — with results that range from uplifting to uproarious.

1001priarosesImages from 1001 Auditions, Pria and Red Roses.

First on Monday’s bill is the 20-minute dark comedy short Viva Liberty, in which producer-director Dishad Husain stars as a British citizen whose Muslim background combines with various misunderstandings to land him in an American detention facility called Camp Liberty. If you have the notion that the makers of Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay may have seen this one on the festival circuit, you can have a rich and fulfilling career as a cynical Web-based entertainment correspondent.

In the 26-minute American short 1001 Auditions, producer Pooja Kumar stars as Meera, a struggling showbiz hopeful who “realizes her true karma” when she finds herself unable to break through in the big city. Arun Singh directs.

Director Theodore Bezaire won acclaim in filmmaker circles with Pria, a 12-minute sketch in which a teenage girl who’s self-conscious about her South Asian accent attempts to break the social ice by imitating lines from her favorite movies.

The final film on the program is a documentary co-directed (with Madhuri Mohindar) by Cinefest programmer Vaishali Sinha. A 17-minute study of South Asian women who work at or frequent a Queens beauty shop, Red Roses is “a sociological portrait of women negotiating between the crosscurrents of two cultures… an exploration of how most South Asian women who come to the United States via marriage and family obligations seek to assert their individuality and freedom.”

Admission to Monday’s event is free. The Middletown library main branch is located at 55 New Monmouth Road, between Route 35 and Tindall Road. For further info on events down at the biblioteque, drop in here.

Email this story

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
Partyline
RED TRUCKS AT RED ROCK
A small dishwasher fire at Red Rock Tap and Grill was put out quickly by firefighters overnight, causing minimal damage. Red Bank Fire Depar ...
CREATIVE COVER UP
The windows of Pearl Street Consignment on Monmouth Street were smashed when a driver crashed their car through them injuring an employee la ...
THEY’RE BACK!
Ospreys returned to the skies over Red Bank this week for the first time since they migrated to warmer climes in late fall. With temperature ...
SPRING IS SPRUNG
RED BANK: Spring 2024 arrives on the Greater Red Bank Green with the vernal equinox at 11:06 p.m. Tuesday.
RED BANK’S FINEST – AND NEWEST
Red Bank Police Officer Eliot Ramos was sworn in as the force’s newest patrolman Thursday, and if you’re doing a double take thinkin ...
EASTER EGG MAYHEM AT THE PARK
An errant whistle spurred an unexpectedly early start to the Spring Egg Hunt on Sunday, which had been scheduled to begin at eggsactly 11am ...
PRESEASON DOCKWORK
RED BANK: With winter winding down, marina gets ready for boating season with some dockwork on our beautiful Navesink River.
CORNED BEEF AND DISCO FRIES?
It’s Friday, and smart Lent-observing Leprechauns know the pot of gold at the end of Red Bank’s rainbow is actually the deliciou ...
SURFBOARD DITCHED
It’s a violation of etiquette in surfing to ditch your board.  (it could hit another surfer and hurt them). But someone appears to ha ...
ELSIE, TAKE ME WITH YOU!
Soaked by pouring rain with the temperature hovering in the low 40’s, this sign in the window of Elsie’s Subs on Monmouth Street ...
WALK THIS WAY
PARTYLINE: Before-and-afters of a sidewalk cleanup on West Street.
SOGGY NOTION
RED BANK: Breezeway sculpture captured the mood downtown as heavy rains fell Saturday morning.
HOME DELIVERY
RED BANK: After a subdivision, an instant house rises on a new Catherine Street lot.
COMMUNITY PROFILES
For Black History Month, Red Bank's Community Engagement and Equity Advisory Committee has been running a series of local profiles on Facebo ...
HEARTY FAREWELL FOR HARDY
RED BANK: Council to honor DPU supervisor Rich Hardy, who retired recently after almost 39 years of keeping things running.
HOMEBOUND? READ ON…
RED BANK: Can't get to the public library? It's now offering free delivery and pickups for homebound borough residents.
TAMING A BEAST OF A WEEK
RED BANK: After the second snowfall of the week, a borough family finds the perfect use for it – a Godzilla snow sculpture.
RED BANK: LIBRARY CLOSED, BUT THE HILL’S OPEN
RED BANK: Though the library was closed by a snowstorm, kids got to enjoy the riverfront property's steep slope Tuesday.
LIGHT(HOUSE) MAKEOVER
This year, getting ready for spring means a midwinter makeover for Strollo's Lighthouse in Red Bank.
TODAY: LOCAL PUPPY COMPETES ON ANIMAL PLANET’S “PUPPY BOWL”
Red Bank’s very own rescue puppy, Biscuit, is set to compete in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl this Sunday, February 11, at 2 PM. Th ...