Hollywood with a dash of Bollywood

New York I Love You - an unique film filled with many stories

New York I Love You is a movie which consists of eleven short films by different directors each. The movie's release date is on the 16th of October 2009 and the film's distributor is Vivendi Entertainment. Among the languages present in the content of the film is English, Gujarati, French, Cantonese and also Yiddish. New York I Love You is an unique movie since the storyline revolves back and forth of all eleven short stories - so be very attentive when you watch the film if not you will be confuse yourself throughout the film. 

Irrfan Khan - my favorite :)

Among all the short stories, my personal favorite is the story by director Mira Nair and written by Suketu Mehta, starring Irrfan Khan and Natalie Portman. Irrfan Khan is in the list of my favourite actors since the roles that he choses in both Bollywood and Hollywood films are simply superb. In this movie, Irrfan Khan plays a Gujarati man, Mansukhbhai. He owns a diamond bussiness together with his elder sibling to support his children. I like this character is because Mansukhbhai is shown as a loving father and a very good human being. The reason why I say this is because he patiently accepts the fact that his wife has broken all bonds of the materialistic world - and goes closer to the spiritual world, leaving her family behind. I appreciate the fact that Mansukhbhai is not angry at his wife's decision, this shows how much respect he has for his own wife. Despite being lonely, Mansukhbhai doesn't plan to remarry. However, love strucks when he meets Natalie Portman (as Rifka), a Jewish woman. She is about to marry a man chose for her by her orthodox parents.

Natalie Portman as Rifka

 I totally understand Mansukhbhai's feelings for Rifka, as one cannot control one's feelings. However, one can control one's actions towards these feelings that have arise. It is shown that Mansukhbhai kisses Rifka's forehead and blesses her using a Jain mantra used to give blessings to a soon-to-be bride. He utters Lord Mahavir's sacred mantra - which purifies their intimate feelings towards each other. This shows how much respect Mansukhbhai has towards women, as he did not have selfish intentions to steal Rifka from her fiancee.... 
Another reason why I have respect and like Irrfan Khan's character in this film is because there are many men of the same situation living in India that I know. I understand this situation quite well as this culture is present in my very own Gujarati culture. The acts of women moving away from the materialistic world is called as the process of taking "diksha" in Jainism, which is a part of the Gujarati culture. Let me explain a little bit about what diksha actually is....

For Jains, the ideal condition for spiritual progress is to be completely detached from the world, which is archived more easily as a monk / nun / medicant. They vow not just to give up material things, but also to give up emotions and attachment of the physical body. This is the reason why women who wish to take up diksha are required to shave off the hairs on their head since long hair symbolizes femininity and arises emotion on the human mind. Usually, a ceremony is organized in which certain rituals are being conducted. This process is called the Diksha Ceremony. This event is usually a sad one, since the person will bid his/her last goodbye to all their loved ones - they will not be able to see them forever. It is also the last day for the person dress up in beautiful clothings since after taking up the diksha he/she will have to dress in white forever. Here is a perfect example of a Diksha Ceremony and how Lord Mahavir looks like:

Lord Mahavir - the Jain God

I know a few people in India whose wives have taken diksha, and they are all remarried since they are unable to bear the loneliness. This is the main reason why I deeply appreciate Mansukhbhai's character in this film since he manages to control his emotions and takes good care of his children while his wife is away. Very few men has the ability to do that. Even though Mansukhbhai falls in love, however it is shown that he has managed to control himself for so many years before he met Rifka - which is not an easy thing to do. 

This short film segment in the film New York I Love You is a lesson for all Gujarati Jain men, who are facing the same situation. I think that the character of Mansukhbhai will give them something to relate to in their life. People should also look up to Irrfan Khan's character since it teaches us important elements of how to handle situations in our life. Mansukhbhai should be a character for everyone to look up to.